


Pokémon Platinum: Adult Version

by the_Lady_of_the_Lake



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: Adventure, F/F, F/M, Lemon, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:48:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24684865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_Lady_of_the_Lake/pseuds/the_Lady_of_the_Lake
Summary: Platinum Berlitz, an extravagant 18-year-old from Twinleaf Town, dreams of becoming a master Coordinator, but decides to pursue the Gym challenge first when a Gym Leader recognizes her potential. Follow her as she travels the Sinnoh region, navigating battles, a will-they won't-they relationship with her childhood best friend, an infatuation with the Champion and numerous flings with other attractive young trainers. But despite her ambition to be the best trainer there ever was, Team Galactic threatens to distort everything Platinum knows and loves into unending chaos...
Relationships: Hikari | Dawn & Jun | Barry, Hikari | Dawn/Everyone, Hikari | Dawn/Shirona | Cynthia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48





	1. Goodbye, Twinleaf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a lot of smut at different parts of this story, however if that's not your thing it can be skipped over without missing the important bits of the story.  
> 

Johanna clasped the locket into place. She took a step back to admire her daughter’s perfectly curled dark locks. “I really am a great hairdresser, aren’t I?” she remarked.

Unfortunately for her mother’s ego, Platinum Berlitz was too deep in thought to process what she was hearing. The freshly-18-year-old’s mind was far, far away from her mother in that moment. As Johanna zipped the back of Platinum’s sparkly pink (and extremely tightly fitted) dress, the young girl did not give a single thought to the graduation ceremony she was due to attend in just shy of an hour. For all intents and purposes, Platinum was up on the stage in Hearthome City already; prancing around in a short skirt, showing off her Piplup’s beauty and cuteness, beaming as the audience rose in a standing ovation.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Champion Coordinator of the Sinnoh region, daughter of legendary Coordinator Johanna, heiress to Berlitz Fashion Inc.; it’s the beautiful, the elegant, the stylish, PLLLLLATINUMMMMM BERLITZ!”

“You know, your dress reminds me of what I used to wear in my coordinating days,” Johanna sighed wistfully.

That was all Platinum needed to come back to Earth. The idea of her own mother in a dress as form-fitting and revealing as the one Platinum now wore was more than enough to break her reverie.

“I’m going to be a better Coordinator than you ever were,” Platinum told her mother boldly.

Johanna laughed. She knew not to take her daughter’s brash comments seriously. Platinum had the ambition and drive to take over the world if she wanted to, so Johanna was quite happy that she had chosen a career as a Coordinator instead. She seemed to have talent, too: Platinum didn’t have a Pokémon of her own yet, but she would practice elaborate routines with Johanna’s old contest partner Pokémon, Glameow.

“And when you’re too old for contests? Then what?”

“You’re never too old to be a coordinator!” Platinum shot back.

“Alright, so when the public is no longer interested in your performances because you aren’t young and cute anymore, then what?”

Johanna held no resentment towards the Contest industry for essentially forcing her out back in her early thirties. She knew it was the nature of the game; the audience attend Contests because they want to see young and cool Coordinators perform with cute and cool Pokémon. Besides, Johanna had not lost her looks with age. She couldn’t dazzle crowds in Hearthome City anymore, but she _could_ dazzle the sleepy residents of Twinleaf Town when she went out for her daily jogs in nothing more than a pair of leggings and a sports bra (this she knew for a fact because Platinum would often complain of male classmates teasing her about her ‘MILF’ mother).

“Wait until you get old, inherit your business, expand it and become _the_ fashion mogul of Sinnoh. That’s what.” Platinum crossed her arms rather smugly.

When she gave birth to Platinum, Johanna had decided to sell half the shares of Berlitz Fashion, Inc. and relocate to Twinleaf Town to raise her daughter. Hearthome was where Johanna knew she belonged, but it wasn’t the kind of environment she wanted to raise a child in. She knew that to Platinum, the glitz and the glamour of Contests, partying and the fashion industry seemed like nirvana-for Johanna, that’s what Hearthome had been in her youth. But when she started her own clothing label, reality begun to sunk in. It took hard work to get a new business off the ground, and it took even longer for Berlitz Fashion to become successful. From the time Johanna had finished her first design to when she finally sold half the company for several million pokedollars, every one of her friends from her coordinating and partying days was gone. When Johanna could no longer binge drink and party until dawn because she needed to work on her designs, her friends had dropped her like a hot potato. The business world of Hearthome was no better; when she announced that she was moving to Twinleaf Town to raise her daughter, the hot-shot lawyers and snooty investment bankers she had befriended more or less disappeared. Having a daughter and having no idea who the father is was a-okay in the eyes of her rich and successful friends, but choosing to leave the city was a social death sentence.

Nevertheless, Johanna enjoyed her new home. She was still the top designer and majority shareholder for Berlitz Fashion, and so she spent her days working remotely from her home office. Property prices in Twinleaf were unbelievably low compared to what she was accustomed to in Hearthome, which meant that she and Platinum lived in a five-bedroom mansion in the heart of the little town. She did her shopping in Sandgem, the next town over, and when she and Platinum itched for a taste of true civilization and modernity, they could go for a day trip up in Jubilife. Although she had undertaken the move for her daughter and had never regretted it, Johanna occasionally feared that Platinum resented her choice.

Even though Platinum had been a baby when they moved to Twinleaf, she never seemed to adapt to the town. She didn’t quite fit in: in her childhood she had been teased for her above-average height and penchant for fashion and glamour. Over the years, her peers’ dislike of her had shifted to something of a steady respect. Although she would not ever be a true Twinleaf girl, her classmates could not help but admire the stunningly beautiful girl (now woman, Johanna realized with a start) who wore nothing but the latest trends, along with effortlessly perfect hair and makeup. Platinum had but two lasting friendships to her name; Barry, a boy who had defended her from bullies as a child and subsequently forged a lasting bond, and Lucas, a young man from the neighboring Sandgem who she had met at a debate club a few years prior. Platinum was a city girl through and through, and Johanna knew she had no choice but to support her daughter’s dreams. The time was coming soon that her daughter would set out on a journey of her own. Today, Platinum’s graduation, was one of the last times she would get to appreciate her presence, and Johanna meant to make the most of it.

“Anyways, I don’t have time for chit-chat. I need to finish up my makeup, Lucas is set to arrive any minute now...” Platinum trailed off as she searched for the last few products she needed.

“You aren’t going with Barry?” Johanna was shocked.

“No, Lucas! I couldn’t go with Barry, that would be so weird.”

“And going with Lucas won’t be weird?” Johanna questioned.

“Of course it won’t,” Platinum told her, pursing her lips to apply a vivid red lipstick. “Lucas won’t have any expectations, if you know what I mean. Besides, Barry is going to be there either way, but Lucas doesn’t go to Twinleaf High so he’s pretty excited about getting a second prom. Remember, I went to his when he graduated last year?”

Johanna couldn’t argue with that logic, but she had to admit she was a bit disappointed. She liked Barry, and she had always gotten the feeling that he and Platinum had something of a crush on each other. She went for a last attempt, “Well, how do you know Lucas won’t have any expectations either? He seems like a nice boy, but you know how people can be…”

Platinum let out a guffaw. “Lucas is as straight as Glameow’s tail, Mom. Believe me, he knows we’re going as friends.”

The doorbell rang. Johanna let in a sharply dressed teenage boy with dark blue hair and a rose in his left hand. “For you,” he offered to Platinum.

“You look so handsome, Lucas! How was the trip over, alright? How are you doing?” Johanna was excellent at offering her motherly concern to her daughter’s friends, too.

“It was fine, thank you,” Lucas smiled. “I’ve started working for Professor Rowan, actually, as his assistant.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful, Lucas! I’m happy for you. Now…get ready for you and Platinum to have your pictures taken a couple thousand times!”

She led the teenagers to the backyard, where she dutifully fulfilled her promise.

The day went by in a blur. Johanna let tears fall from her face as she watched her daughter walk across the stage and receive her diploma. Platinum felt as if the ceremony went on forever, even though there were only fifty or so graduates. She enjoyed the fancy dinner that evening, and she almost felt as if she were living the Hearthome life already as she sipped on her sparkling champagne. That image was quickly crushed as she looked around the room and noticed the _horrific_ dresses some of her classmates wore. As their dinner came to a close, Platinum rejoiced. This was what she had been waiting for all day- the afterparty.

As she woke up the next day, incredibly hungover and mysteriously in her own bed, Platinum found that she did not remember much from the previous night. She remembered the taste of Lucas’ lips on hers (he had decided he wanted to know what it was like to kiss a girl). She remembered a heartfelt moment with a former bully who expressed his remorse and then promptly attempted to sleep with her. She recalled, with a wave of embarrassment, ripping off her shirt and announcing to her classmates that she was proudly bisexual and that “any one of you girls is invited to suck on these” (she unfortunately had no recollection of anyone taking her up on the offer). She racked her mind. What about Barry? That boy was an immature, irresponsible jerk, she and him must have done something hilarious that evening…she remembered nothing.

I’ll check my phone for pictures, she reasoned. She reached behind her to find it. Nothing. She turned around to look for it and promptly screamed when she found herself face to face with a shock of blonde hair and the sleeping face of her childhood best friend.


	2. Goodbye, Twinleaf (For Real This Time)

For the most part, Platinum and Barry ignored each other. It wasn’t that their friendship was irreparably ruined, as they both knew they would eventually end up talking again. It was just… _weird_ to be around each other. Neither of them remembered anything, which made the situation all the more confusing. Had they simply made out? Gone all the way? Had they done anything at all?

Platinum preferred not to dwell on it. Instead, she counted down the days until she planned to make her great escape, to go out into the unknown and forge a life for herself outside of the dingy (yet somehow charming, Platinum would admit to no one but herself) town she lived in. She spent her days researching Contest strategies, racking her brain to decide which partner Pokémon she would choose and watching live performances.

Three days before she was scheduled to leave, Platinum had still not spoken to Barry. She meant to say something, before leaving for good, but she wanted him to make the first move. It always had been Barry who would fess up first; any argument, disagreement, awkward situation, Platinum knew she could count on him to apologize first. She liked that about him, especially because Platinum was just not the type of person who liked to admit she was wrong (not that Platinum was ever wrong, of course).

As the Contest rerun she had been watching came to a close, Platinum mulled over her options. Should she go to Barry? She couldn’t stand the idea of facing him right now, not after the possibility that they had seen each other…

Her attention snapped back to the television as a somewhat-familiar face appeared: Professor Rowan, the most well-known researcher in all of Sinnoh.

“Greetings, Poké Maniacs!” Professor Rowan smiled, somewhat unnaturally. Platinum got the impression that this was not a man well-accustomed to show business.

The screen flicked to footage of a stormy, murky lake. “Far in the depths of this mysterious lake lies something few men have ever seen, or will ever see…at the bottom of this lake lives a Gyarados…powerful, as all Gyarados are, but this particular specimen is rare indeed! Ladies and gentlemen, the red Gyarados!”

Platinum held her breath as something big and red emerged from the lake’s waters. For a split second, there it was, in all its glory: a Gyarados, big and powerful and just like any other Gyarados, really, but it was a beautiful bright red. Her mind could not help but think of how stunningly elegant this Pokémon would look in a contest.

The episode was interrupted by a quick pounding on the door. Confused, Platinum hurried down the stairs to find a frantic-looking Barry waiting at the foot of her door.

“Have you _seen_ that Rowan special? The red Gyarados? We need to go! We need to go now! I need to see that thing!”

He was out of breath, panting heavily. He must have run to her house as soon as he saw the specially coloured Pokémon on television.

Barry opened his mouth and was set to offer Platinum a new barrage of impulsive pleading when he finally took notice of his friend’s attire. She wore a pair of silky, light pink pyjama pants, the type that exposes the wearer’s chosen style and colour of panties as soon as she makes the slightest movement. Her top was little more than a glorified bra- Platinum’s relatively small and perky chest allowed her to wear the tiniest of strapless tops without the need of extra support. Barry would never admit it, but he was quite pleased about Platinum’s habit of skipping bra wear. Barry also silently praised Twinleaf Town’s relatively cold environment for providing him with a rather…pointed view on a regular basis.

“I…”

Even Barry, the furthest thing from a diplomat in the best of times, felt as if he needed to acknowledge the situation. He and Platinum hadn’t spoken in weeks, and he knew it was a bit strange to burst into his friend’s life again so abruptly.

“So what if I saw your boobs, Platinum! Whatever happened, we both know it was a mistake. It’s not gonna happen again, so we need to just put it behind us and get our friendship back.”

That was too intense, Barry thought to himself. He needed a touch of humour. He added, “Even if I know you would just loooove to get a hold of my hot body.”

He was met with a rapid slap to the cheek. He smiled. He and Platinum would be just fine.

“Anyways, that’s not what I was here for,” Barry pressed on. “You were watching that special too, right? A red Gyarados! Think about how that would look, Platinum! Imagine I’m out there in a battle and I’m just about losing, the other trainer’s getting ready to laugh at my ass and take my money, I whip out that thing, BOOM! I’m automatically the winner. You think some kid is gonna fight try to fight a _legendary_ Gyarados? I sure as hell wouldn’t. Well, scratch that, I would fight it to tell the story later but I’d be pissing my pants as it happened. You gonna help me find it?”

Platinum raised an eyebrow. She looked the boy up and down, rather incredulously. “Where, in Arceus’ name, are you going to find a red Gyarados?”

Barry grinned. He had been waiting for that question. “Lake Verity, duh. Where else would you find one? There’s all sorts of legends about that damn place.”

Platinum paused. Barry was _seriously_ trying to drag her out to some lake, way outside of Twinleaf, supposedly protected by a mythical Pokémon, all to find a Gyarados that was incredibly unlikely to actually be there?

Barry checked his watch. “I don’t have _time_ for you to think about it, Platinum. Get dressed and meet me at the start of Route 201. Do it or else I’m fining your rich ass a million bucks.”

He dashed off. Platinum considered her options. Did she _really_ feel like rushing off to some lake to find a Pokémon that was most probably in some far-off region, far from Sinnoh? It would be a waste of time, she concluded rapidly.

Still, though, this was one of her last chances to spend time with her friend before leaving Twinleaf, probably for good. While freezing her ass off and hiking to a lake while listening to the ramblings of an ADHD-afflicted teenager did not exactly match Platinum’s vision of the ideal goodbye party, she had to admit that it would be representative of her experiences in Twinleaf, up to now. She hurried upstairs to dress and was back out the door in an instant (well, a bit more than an instant, you couldn’t expect her to go out without a cute outfit and a bit of makeup, could you?).


	3. Still Not Out of Twinleaf Town

Platinum found Barry at the threshold of Route 201, pacing near the large ‘Welcome to Twinleaf!’ sign that served as the only recognizable landmark of the region.

“There’s a bit of a problem,” he announced to Platinum in lieu of greeting.

“The state of your hair?” she inquired innocently.

Barry ignored her (very typical) remark. “No. I’m going to catch that Gyarados…or well, fight it at least, but while I spent all that time waiting for you, I realized that, well, uh, you need a Pokémon to fight a Pokémon. And unless you’ve got a secret Charizard you’ve been hiding from me all this time, there are exactly 0 Pokémon between the 2 of us.”

“So what you’re saying is that you dragged me out here for nothing.” Platinum laughed, with a hint of annoyance in her voice that Barry seemed (or chose?) not to notice.

“Now that’s where you’re totally wrong, Berlitz. I’ve come up with the perfect plan: we make a quick detour to Sandgem Town, get starter Pokémon from Professor Rowan, head back to Lake Verity for me to catch that Gyarados, we’re back home in time for you to catch an episode of _Nimbasa’s Next Top Model_. Foolproof.” He crossed his arms and watched her expectantly.

“Barry, your plan is perfect except for the fact that it’s completely stupid. How are you going to get through the tall grass to get to Sandgem without having a Pokémon first?”

“I knew you would be like this, Platinum. It’s simple: all we have to do is run through the grass. And I mean run fast! Not those prissy girl jogs you do in gym class. Wild Pokémon won’t have any chance of getting to us.”

“Barry, that’s even stupider! Besides, why do I have to go to Sandgem, too? _You’re_ the one who wants to catch a Gyarados.”

Barry looked at her incredulously. “Aren’t you gonna need a partner Pokémon? If you’re planning on traveling to Hearthome? How else were you gonna get there?”

Platinum had no smart remark for this. Her mother had agreed to go with her to Sandgem, but beyond that, Platinum hadn’t given a thought to planning the journey she would have to go through to reach Hearthome City.

“So you have to come with me,” Barry informed her.

Seeing as Platinum did not move a muscle in response to Barry’s insistence, Barry figured he would simply lead by example. He dashed towards the tall grass at full speed.

“What in the _hell_ do you think you’re doing?” barked a stern, older-sounding voice.

The young blonde paused mid-step. Out of the tall grass emerged an old man, panting.

“As soon as I heard voices off in the distance talking about going into the tall grass without a Pokémon, I knew my presence was needed. Do they teach you _nothing_ in schools these days? _Nothing_!? Back in my day people only went to school until high school, but we knew better than to walk into tall grass without a single Pokémon! What were you thinking?”

His last statement was more of an exclamation of disbelief than a question. Barry, however, seemed not to have heard the man’s insults. He simply stared at the new face, starstruck.

“Professor Rowan?” was all the boy could stammer out.

“In the flesh,” the man grumbled, without a hint of humour. He completely ignored Barry’s starstruck expression. “Anyways,” he continued on, “I heard something about the two of you wanting Pokémon?”

As if on cue, another, much younger, man stepped out from the tall grass. He held a large briefcase and seemed to struggle with the weight of it, as evidenced by the sweat pouring down his forehead. Platinum recognized him immediately.

“Lucas!” she exclaimed.

He beamed back at her. “So it was the two of you who gave us such a fright. We thought some kids had gotten the bright idea to run off into the grass, I never would have thought a smart girl like you capable of that kind of stupid!” He chuckled. “Although, you are with that guy.” He pointed a knuckle at Barry, fingers still gripping the briefcase. “Not too surprised you went along with him, considering how…close you guys are.”

Platinum immediately regretted ever telling her friend about the events of her prom night as Barry’s face became a deep shade of scarlet. Professor Rowan raised an eyebrow, but (wisely) chose not to pursue the matter. “Lucas, bring that here,” the Professor said, pointing to the space in front of Platinum and Barry.

He did so dutifully.

“Now…” Professor Rowan scanned the pair of young adults. “Considering you seem to be well-acquainted with these two, Lucas, might you be able to vouch for them and assure me they are half-decent people with a desire to bond with and properly treat a Pokémon?”

“Of course,” Lucas replied rapidly. Platinum noted that he seemed rather afraid of his boss.

“Then might you show them the three Pokémon available to them?”

Lucas hastened to open the briefcase. Three Pokéballs lay in the case. Lucas picked them up and threw them into the air, causing the contained Pokémon to appear before Platinum and Barry.

“Turtwig, the tiny leaf Pokémon.” Lucas pointed to a green and yellow turtle-looking Pokémon with a little shell and a leaf attached to its forehead.

“Chimchar,” he continued, gesturing towards a little red chimp with a flaming tail.

“And finally, Piplup.” Out popped a cute blue penguin.

“Respectively, these are grass, fire and water types. You can both have one.”

Barry made up his mind, seemingly without a second thought. “I choose that one!” he pointed to fiery Chimchar.

“Wait a moment, young man,” Professor Rowan spoke up. “Ladies first.”

Barry rolled his eyes and made a comment about sexism. “Choose Piplup and get over with it,” he muttered to Platinum.

While Platinum did indeed find Piplup to be unbelievably adorable, Barry’s assumption that she would choose the cutest starter was unfortunately incorrect. Although she could imagine herself bouncing along on stage amidst bubbles and cuteness with Piplup, or even curating a kind of wholesome and sweet image with Turtwig, Platinum found herself drawn to the steady flame of Chimchar.

Although the inhabitants of Twinleaf Town seemed to lump Platinum in with other ‘ditsy’ city girls and reduce her to a frilly, feminine girl whose only interests lay in makeup and fashion, Platinum saw more for herself. She liked cute things and the colour pink, but the Contest persona she had meticulously planned for herself did not involve pastel colours or cute little dances. Platinum wanted femininity, yes, but she wanted in its most raw and powerful form. She did not want to be cooed at, or to be looked up to as a wholesome role model for little girls. The Platinum she saw in her dreams was sexy and powerful, strutting on stage in tiny outfits to a background of flames and destruction, a powerful, elegant Pokémon at her side. She wanted to cause controversy, she wanted parents to phone in to Contest halls in concern that she was a ‘bad influence’ on aspiring Contest competitors. Platinum wanted to seduce Sinnoh, to capture the hearts of men and women through their lust for her and admiration for her badass Pokémon. Truth be told, her choice had been made even before the impatient Barry’s.

“I want Chimchar,” Platinum stated coolly.

She stared into the Pokémon’s dark eyes. Its gaze was intense as it looked her up and down. Its eyes rose to meet hers, as if in acceptance.

“What? No fair!” Barry shouted incredulously.

Platinum barely heard him as Lucas handed her the Pokéball. “This is a male,” Lucas explained. “Right now, he knows Scratch and Leer.”

“And you, young man?” Professor Rowan studied Barry. He paused before adding, “Chimchar would not have been the right choice for you. An explosive personality like yours does not mesh well with fire. This young lady… the flames will strengthen her.”

Barry seemed rather hurt. “I guess I choose…Piplup!”

The little penguin chirped happily. Barry’s unhappiness faded as the Pokémon jumped into his arms. “Well, looks like I have a type advantage over you, Berlitz…that means I’m gonna kick your ass!”

Only Turtwig remained. Lucas grabbed it’s Pokéball to return it but was quickly stopped by the Professor.

“You don’t have a Pokémon, do you, Lucas?” he asked sharply.

“No sir,” Lucas replied.

“Then this one is yours. You’re going to need a partner Pokémon if you wish to be an efficient assistant.”

“I…thank you, sir!” Lucas was shocked, but obviously overjoyed. He scooped Turtwig into his arms.

“Now, then…I suppose the two of you no longer need to head through the grass to see me?” Professor Rowan inquired.

Platinum and Barry shook their heads.

“In that case, I have work to attend to. Lucas, come with me.”

Lucas hurried to pick up the briefcase and follow after Professor Rowan, who was already on his way.

Professor Rowan called over his shoulder, “If the two of you need something, come to my lab!”

Barry crossed his arms. “You know what this means, Platinum.”

“Yeah…we’re good to go to the lake and get this stupid search over with?”

Barry laughed. “Hell no. It means we’ve got to battle.”

He placed himself directly in front of Platinum, eye-to-eye. “We’re both trainers now. And eye contact means it’s time for a battle.”

“Come on, Barry, let’s just go off to the lake and get this over with."

Barry inched closer to Platinum, an inch away from her face. “What is it, Berlitz? Scared you’re gonna lose?”

Now, Barry had not intended the act to be aggressive, or even provocative. To him, a bit of ribbing was simply in the nature of a friendship. But to Platinum, this was a challenge, and an insult to her ability to _always_ be the best.

“Come on, then,” she whispered coldly. “Chimchar, let’s go.”

There was something about her Pokémon’s steely eyes. “Let’s set ourselves up for success,” she told him. And she meant it.

She gave her friend just enough time to back away and order his Piplup to battle. “Chimchar, use Scratch,” Platinum commanded. Immediately, he raced at Piplup, landing a hit before the Pokémon could react.

Barry would not let himself be bested that easily. “Piplup, Pound!”

Chimchar was pushed back by the force of the attack. Platinum cursed silently. “Use Leer, then prepare for another Scratch!” Platinum knew Barry would not bother with stat-changing moves, and so she had to get Leer in quick before his next attack.

Chimchar landed Scratch before enduring another Pound. If I can get this in faster, Platinum thought, I’ll win. “Chimchar, give it your all! Scratch!”

To the immense shock of both trainers, Chimchar did not use Scratch. Instead, his powerful foot lit up with flames, soaring at Piplup at record speed. Despite the move’s type disadvantage, Piplup fell to the floor. Platinum had won.

As Barry rushed to his defeated Pokémon, Platinum’s Chimchar again met her with the steely gaze. “That was Blaze Kick, wasn’t it?”

The Pokémon did nothing. “A baby Pokémon like you doesn’t normally know those moves.”

Her Chimchar seemed to agree as it gave a short nod of its head before its knees crumbled. Platinum rushed to it. Chimchar had not fainted, but had been severely hurt by the battle, nonetheless.

“We need to go home and rest our Pokémon before heading to the lake,” Platinum told Barry.

He readily agreed. “I’ll be back at yours when Piplup is healed up.”

Platinum nodded and returned Chimchar to its Pokéball before dashing off back home, Barry at her heels.


	4. Actually Leaving Twinleaf This Time, I Promise

“Platinum, what the hell is this?”

Johanna was back home, and judging by the shocked tone of her voice, Platinum assumed she had come across the Chimchar Platinum had set to sleep on the living room couch. She dashed down the stairs to greet her mother.

“Professor Rowan gave me and Barry starter Pokémon,” Platinum hurried to explain.

Johanna stared at her blankly. “You went to Sandgem Town?”

“No!” Platinum yelped, fearing her mother would scold her for taking the risk of going to the neighboring town without a Pokémon for protection. She hastily recounted the morning’s events.

“Well then.” Johanna was speechless; she had not been expecting a tale of red Gyarados and unexpected old men emerging from the tall grass.

“Your Chimchar looks just about rested up,” Johanna commented, for lack of a better reaction.

Her motherly instinct kicked in; “Did you properly thank Professor Rowan for this?”

Platinum’s mouth gaped open. “Well, I…”

As if on cue, the door to the Berlitz home was pushed open; Barry had apparently reached a new stage of arrogance in which knocking was simply beneath him.

“My Piplup is all healed up! And I have a new plan: I’m catching that red Gyarados and bringing it to Professor Rowan to show him that I’m like, a Pokémon prodigy or something. He’ll be so fucking impressed.”

Johanna chose to ignore the young man’s potty mouth. “Platinum, wouldn’t that be a great idea if you went off with Barry and went to properly thank Professor Rowan?”

“I guess so…” Platinum had still not let go of her original reluctance to head to Lake Verity. “But won’t it be dangerous?” she asked her mother, as something of a last attempt to stay home instead.

“You’re an adult now, honey, you can make your own decisions about what’s safe or not.”

Platinum silently cursed her mother’s exceptionally liberal parenting style and grabbed the adventuring bag she had packed for herself while waiting for Chimchar to recover. “Ready, Chimchar?”

“Aren’t you going to give him a nickname?” Johanna inquired of her daughter.

Platinum paused. She hadn’t thought of giving her new partner a nickname. But the idea intrigued her…this was no ordinary Chimchar, and so an ordinary name was simply unsuitable.

“Yeah, just hadn’t thought of one yet,” Platinum said quickly.

She was going to have to think of something, she thought, as she and Barry set out yet again. Johanna watched the teenagers head for Route 201, smiling as she remembered the adventurous and exciting days of her own youth.

Platinum and Barry trekked through Route 201 for what seemed like an eternity to the two of them, although only Platinum had the gall to admit her annoyance.

“There.” Barry pointed ahead; in the dense forest up ahead, an opening could be spotted between the trees. The two friends hurried forwards, each wondering what lay ahead.

As the teenagers burst through the path and emerged upon the lakefront, a beautiful sight set both their mouths agape.

The land ahead of them was scattered with patches of snow, as well as the trees that surrounded the entirety of the lake. Wild Pokémon could be seen flittering through the trees and above the lake, as well as bubbles and movement on the surface of the lake itself. Platinum thought she saw some fishy Pokémon emerge from the waters for a curious peek at the trainers. The lake itself was a sight to behold; deep blue waters shimmering and glittering under the sun’s rays, currently calm and undisturbed, but with occasional violent ripples that betrayed the presence of a large Pokémon underneath. When Platinum strained her eyes, there seemed to be a little island far off in the very middle of the lake: a very small island indeed, but it appeared to have some sort of entrance, as if to an underwater cave. What was perhaps most interesting to the two new trainers, however, was not the mystique and beauty of Lake Valor, but rather the sudden realization that they were not at all alone in this wondrous place.

Standing at the edge of the water, just a few metres from where the forest path emerged on to the lakefront, was a middle-aged man with short blue hair. He wore a rather strange outfit, Platinum noted, with what seemed like a pair of black track pants paired with a vest and long-sleeve top. He was muttering to himself and did not seem to have yet noticed the arrival of the two young adults. Platinum and Barry shared a glance. This did not seem like an ordinary tourist, here to observe the lake’s legendary beauty.

“The flow of time…The expansion of space…Seemingly all-powerful, impossible to harness…but not to me. One day it will be mine…my name is Cyrus, and you would do good to remember it…”

Platinum and Barry, all the more bewildered, wondered briefly if they should perhaps just turn around and leave.

“Until then, sleep while you can, legendary, powerful, Pokémon of the lake…”

At this, Cyrus turned. He seemed to show no surprise at the presence of Platinum and Barry. He walked towards them, deliberate in his pace. “Allow me to pass. Step aside.”

Platinum and Barry immediately did as told and watched the strange figure as he disappeared down the path. There was silence.

“What the fuck?” Platinum breathed. Barry did not answer her.

“Ignore it,” he told her firmly. “Just a random crazy guy. Forget him.”

Uneasily, they turned back towards the lake just as an enormous ripple crashed through the lake and caused a wave of cold lake water to crash upon the shore.

“That’s it!” Barry yelled. “Piplup, go!”

The Pokémon eagerly emerged from its ball. Barry studied the lake, looking for the exact location of the thing that had caused the splash. His brow furrowed, expression tightened, and for a moment Platinum truly did believe that Barry was going to capture this legendary Pokémon. Except…

“Hey, Barry, do you have any Pokéballs?”

“Of course I do,” Barry spat at her, reaching into his bag. He rummaged around a bit before coming to the realization that he had, in fact, never purchased a Pokéball in his life. “Fuck!” He yelled. “Fuck!”

Platinum couldn’t help but feel sorry for him after seeing just how determined he had been to capture the Pokémon. Still, it was a bit hilarious that Barry, in his rookie trainer naivety, had forgotten the most integral part of catching a Pokémon.

“I’ll come back for you!” Barry shouted to the waters, to no reply.

“We need to go to Sandgem Town, I need Pokéballs!” Barry was still rather upset at himself for the stupid mistake.

Barry glanced at Platinum. “Sorry, Berlitz, but I need them now and you kinda slow me down. Piplup, let’s go!”

Barry returned Piplup and immediately rushed down the forest path and out of sight. 

Platinum shrugged. While she did need to get to Sandgem as well, she did not particularly feel like running the whole way to chase after Barry. She began on the path to the beach town.

As Platinum first felt the salty sea breeze when she stepped into Sandgem Town, a familiar face greeted her from the threshold of a large building.

“Lucas!”

Platinum hurried to meet with him. They chatted briefly about how the trip over had been, how her Chimchar had been doing, and what she was doing here in Sandgem. Their friendly conversation was interrupted by the door of the building Lucas stood next to being thrust open. Out popped Barry.

“Platinum! Lucas! I was just talking to the Professor. Turns out, he actually isn’t that terrifying when you get to know him, he’s more of a gruff exterior, soft insides thing, you know. He liked me soooo much, he gave me this.” He pulled out a red device from his coat pocket. “It’s a Pokédex. He wouldn’t trust just anyone with this, you know.” He smirked rather annoyingly.

“Anyways, I’m off. I’m doing the gym challenge as a way to get data on every Pokémon there is, the Professor suggested it to me. See ya, losers.” And with that, Barry was off.

“What is he _talking_ about?” Platinum asked Lucas incredulously.

Lucas rolled his eyes. “This is the Pokémon Lab. Come in, it should explain a few things.”

The building seemed even larger on the inside, if that was possible. Rows of meticulously cleaned counters decorated with strange vials of liquid served as the only furniture. Every workstation was tended to by one or two serious-looking scientists in white lab coats and full-face masks. Some seemed to be studying Pokémon, such as the woman nearest to the entrance peering intently at a Bidoof’s feet, while others seemed to be…operating on them? Platinum’s eye was drawn to a man using surgical tools on a seemingly unconscious, sickly-looking Wooper.

“This place is…”

“Amazing,” Lucas finished for her. “You have no idea how lucky I am to have gotten this opportunity, I heard people were applying for it from other regions, even. I have a feeling I only got it because Professor Rowan is an old friend of my grandma’s, honestly…”

Platinum scoffed. “You’re scary smart, Lucas. You deserve this as much as anyone.”

He smiled weakly. “Thanks. Anyways, come to the back with me. Professor Rowan had a feeling you would be showing up here.”

Lucas led her to an office at the very back of the laboratory, as sparsely furnished as the rest of the lab but decorated with photo after photo of what Platinum presumed to be Professor Rowan’s family.

“Ms. Berlitz,” Professor Rowan acknowledged.

Platinum figured Lucas had told the Professor her name, as she didn’t remember introducing herself.

“May I see your Pokémon?”

Platinum nodded. She released her Chimchar, which looked around, rather surprised to be back in the place it had grown up.

The Professor approached the Pokémon, taking note of its apparent good health and burgeoning trust for its trainer. “I believe you’re fit to keep this Pokémon, young lady,” he told her, a hint of approval in his words.

“Thank you, sir,” Platinum beamed. “I have a feeling I can go far with this Chimchar.”

“Yes, about that…I’ve heard from Lucas that you have some big plans in mind.”

“Well…yes I do, actually. I was planning on going off to Hearthome City in just a few days,” she replied.

“I was hoping you would do me a favour, in exchange for allowing you to keep that Pokémon.”

He turned to his desk, where he rummaged through the drawers for a moment. He took out a box and removed the contents for Platinum to see a red device, identical to what Barry had shown off a few moments prior.

“This Pokédex will automatically capture the data of any Pokémon you come across,” he explained. “As a Pokémon researcher, this data is essential, but I am much too busy to spend my time traversing the continent in search of some obscure Pokémon.”

He handed the device to Platinum, who carefully placed it into her pocket.

“I don’t expect you to spend your spare time combing through every patch of tall grass, but simply recording the information of anything you might come across is more than enough for me.”

He seemed to be operating under the assumption that Platinum had already agreed to the task, and she chose to simply go along with it.

“The two of you may leave now, I have work to do,” he said sternly.

At Lucas’ inquisitive look, he told him, “Just take the day off. You’ve worked hard enough.”

Once outside the lab, Lucas turned to Platinum, glee taking over his features. “I think that’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard him say to me!”

Platinum laughed. “Tough guy, isn’t he?”

Lucas shrugged. “I know he comes off that way, but he’s all bark and no bite, if you know what I mean. My grandma used to date him when they were kids…apparently Barry is right, he’s a big softie deep down.”

“Speaking of Barry, where was he even going?” Platinum asked.

They had begun to make their way to the beach at the south of town. “The Professor suggested that he try the Gym challenge as a way to meet some new Pokémon,” he explained. “Said yes right away. So he’s probably off in Jubilife city already, looking to get some badges. I think Oreburgh is where the first gym is.”

Platinum was silent. “Why didn’t he ask me to do the gym challenge, too?”

Lucas furrowed his brow. “Because I already told him you wanted to be a Coordinator. You don’t need a second dream, do you?”

Platinum considered the situation. Lucas had been right to say that she didn’t really need to complete the gym challenge, considering that what she _really_ wanted was to be a master Coordinator. But still, she couldn’t stand the thought of Barry facing the gym challenge, and maybe even winning. What if he became the Champion? The thought made her shudder. Master Coordinator was an impressive achievement, but it did not carry quite the same respect as the title of Champion. Barry would lord it over her for eternity…

“Actually, I’ll try it.”

Lucas looked at her in shock.

“I need to travel through a few cities to get to Hearthome anyway, right? I’ll just beat some gyms on the way there. Then I can start training as a Coordinator.”

Her mind was made up; besides, gaining a little extra EXP for her Pokémon would do nothing but bolster her chance at success in Contests.

Lucas shrugged. He knew Platinum’s competitive streak was getting to her. Personally, he thought she should just stick to coordinating. He had seen her practice performances and he truly did think she was capable of becoming well-known in the field. But he knew better than to try to disagree with Platinum. She didn’t take well to that kind of thing.

“Well, you’d better get a move on, then,” he told her. “Barry’s probably already in Jubilife by now.”

“Already?” Platinum gasped. While she had quickly accepted the idea of facing a barrage of Gym leaders, she had not expected her journey to begin so soon. In her mind, leaving home was still a far-off, abstract thing, to be dealt with when the time came…

“Well…” Lucas stared off at the rapidly setting sun painting a variety of bright colours upon the ocean horizon. “You might be better off waiting until the morning. You can sleep at my place, buy some supplies early tomorrow, and be on your way.”

Platinum considered the offer. She gulped. “Thanks, Lucas. I…it’s now or never, I guess.”

They watched the horizon until the sun’s artwork disappeared from the lapping waves and all that could be seen was the occasional rippling of a Magikarp in the water near the beach.

That night, Platinum called her mother from the Pokémon Centre in Sandgem Town.

“Platinum!” Johanna exclaimed. “I thought you’d be back by now! Are you staying overnight at Lucas’? What about Barry? His mother didn’t know where he was, but she wasn’t worried at all, it’s typical of him…”

“I’m staying at Lucas’ house,” Platinum agreed. “But Barry is off. He decided he’s going to take on the gym challenge.”

Johanna stared blankly. “He just…off and went? How incredibly impulsive…he didn’t even say goodbye to his mother!”

“Yeah, about that…Mom, I’m going off too. I’m heading to Hearthome and I’m going to challenge the gyms along the way.”

Johanna said nothing. She stared at Platinum for an increasingly concerning amount of time. “But…”

“I’m sorry,” Platinum interjected, “but Barry’s gone and I can’t let him get ahead of me. And besides…I don’t want to put this off. It’s time for me to go.”

Johanna was shocked. She would not admit it, but she was hurt by Platinum’s sudden decision. All the same, she did not want to come in the way of her ambitious daughter. “I’ll send you some money…you need to buy some basic supplies.”

Platinum nodded happily. “Thanks for being okay with this, Mom. I didn’t know how you would react. And I promise I’ll call you every time I get to a new city, okay? You won’t have to worry!”

Johanna nodded, forcing a smile. She offered her daughter a goodnight wish and hung up the video phone. In her now-empty house, Johanna stared at the floor. She knew her daughter was capable of going out on her own…but the fact remained that Johanna would miss and worry for her daughter, endlessly.


	5. Study Buddies

Platinum awoke early the next morning. She dressed and had a quick breakfast before saying goodbye to Lucas and heading to the Pokémart. Using the money her mother had sent her, she purchased the essentials: Pokéballs, Potions, and other necessary healing items for her Pokémon. She also bought a small, compact tent and sleeping bag as well as some dried, easy to carry food and water. She proceeded to get herself a few more necessities, such as a few changes of clothing, some light (well, light according to Platinum) makeup, a medical kit and as a last-minute consideration, the next few series of her birth control pills. She wasn’t planning to be sexually active, exactly, but Platinum preferred to be safe than sorry.

Route 202 did not offer much in the way of newness or excitement for Platinum. To her surprise, she defeated the few trainers she encountered with ease. Her Chimchar was proving itself to be exceptionally powerful. Although she did not quite realize it yet, Platinum also displayed an exceptional talent and intuition for the mechanics and strategies of a Pokémon battle.

The journey through the route was uneventful-almost too much so. Although she had heard countless warnings of the numerous wild Pokémon that could jump out at a trainer, she had yet to encounter a single one. Could wild Pokémon be scared of her Chimchar? The idea seemed too crazy to be true.

Platinum could see the outskirts of Jubilife City on the horizon when her sneaking suspicion of Chimchar’s ability to intimidate other Pokémon was quashed. A little bird Pokémon suddenly emerged before the duo. Platinum immediately pulled out her Pokédex, revealing that the wild bird was a Starly.

“Chimchar, go!”

Platinum wasted no time with getting what she wanted. With a flurry of flames and scratches, Chimchar quickly acquired victory over the little Pokémon. Seizing her chance, Platinum pulled out a Pokéball. The ball jiggled a few times as Platinum and her partner Pokémon held their breath. Then it went still.

Chimchar jumped to Platinum’s arms in apparent joy. She spun her partner around in a show of pride before scooping up the Pokéball. “Good thing we’re close to Jubilife, you need a good healing,” she muttered.

She and her Pokémon made their way down the route.

Platinum had visited Jubilife City countless times before, but she still held her breath in anticipation when she caught sight of the looming skyscrapers that punctuated the city’s skyline. It was a busy, bustling city that only continued to grow with the various condo buildings that seemed to multiply as soon as you looked away. It was, in fact, the biggest city in Sinnoh. Although the burgeoning industries and booming TV industry attracted Platinum, she was still more drawn to the allure of Hearthome. Besides being the home of the Contest Hall, the smaller city had more of a young, partygoing reputation in comparison to the busy work life associated with Jubilife. Still, Platinum relished in the city environment.

As she entered the city, her immediate game plan was to attempt to reach a Pokémon Centre. Her new Starly needed to be treated, and Chimchar had suffered some damage. She hurried down the paved streets. The city was surrounded by dense forestry, and despite the buzzing city life, evidence of Pokémon was seen everywhere. Wild birds perched atop skyscrapers while small rodent Pokémon rummaged through garbage bins in search of a tasty, abandoned meal. Platinum thought she could feel something moving beneath the ground from time to time: Jubilife City had been carved into a once-tall mountain and so it made sense for mountain Pokémon to continue living in the home that had been theirs for centuries, albeit underneath the hustle and bustle.

While Platinum much preferred the streets of Jubilife to the forgotten paths of Twinleaf Town, there was one thing that bothered her about the crowds of people rushing by, heading towards work. Back in Twinleaf Town, everyone knew who she was. She knew them back, of course, but the fact remained that everyone knew her name. Here, she was just another pawn in the faceless crowd, a pretty face that would be admired for a second or two before promptly being forgotten. For a woman who thrived on attention and admiration, the situation was not particularly enjoyable. Still, Platinum reasoned, they’ll know my name soon enough. One day, I won’t be able to walk down a street without being recognized. The thought made her shudder in anticipation.

After a few minutes of hurrying down the crowded streets, Platinum breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the familiar reddish orange of the roof of a Pokémon Centre. She made her way towards it. As she was about to enter, however, her eye was caught by something rather strange.

‘Hidden’ behind a lamppost that stood between the Pokémon Centre and a large school-looking building to the right was a middle-aged man dressed in a trench coat. He did not seem to notice as Platinum stared directly at him, and despite the glaring obviousness of his chosen hiding spot, no passerby seemed to notice him. Fearing the man might simply be some crazy homeless man, Platinum prepared to turn away. But no, she thought suddenly. I have Pokémon with me now. Nothing scares me.

She approached the man.

“Um…are you alright, sir?”

The man showed no sign of having heard her.

“You behind the lamppost?”

At this, the man seemed to shuffle around a bit. There was a long silence before he slowly emerged from behind the lamppost. His face displayed a mixture of shock and disappointment.

“How…how did you know?” He seemed frantic. “You have unmasked me as a member of the International Police! Now what do you want?” His brow furrowed angrily.

Platinum raised an eyebrow. “What? I don’t want anything. I was just checking why you were hiding behind a lamppost…your body is way wider than the lamppost, it was pretty obvious you were there.”

The man refused to believe her. “Only a trained eye may have spotted my incredible disguise! But, I will accept that you mean no harm, if only for the sake of my own ego. Your power of observation is extraordinary, young woman! My cover is now blown, so let me introduce myself. My name is-well, my codename, which is all that I am permitted to say of myself, is Looker. You shall know me as that. Tell me, young lady, what is your name?”

Platinum contemplated the idea of giving him a codename of her own, but she figured it was best not to play along with the crazy. “Platinum Berlitz.” She hoped the name would elicit some sort of a response in him.

“Your name is _Platinum_?” Looker’s face scrunched up in surprise.

Platinum nodded, wondering what had caused so much confusion.

“Like the _metal_? Is that your real name, young lady? You were named after the seventy-eighth element of the periodic table?”

“It’s an incredibly dense and malleable metal,” Platinum replied defensively.

“Very well,” he said.

Platinum did not appreciate the fact that a man who had previously chosen to hide himself behind a lamppost was now the one giving _her_ a strange look.

Looker continued on, “Have you ever heard of the expression, ‘Don’t be a thief!’?”

“Not really, but I think not being a thief is kind of a given?”

“No? You do not know of this expression? Perhaps your mama had told you this before, but you have simply forgotten, as the youth are wont to do. I will tell you now, it is wrong to take things from others. Unfortunately, there is a nefarious group in this region. That is why the International Police has sent me! This group has been stealing Pokémon from others. Abominable! Atrocious! I am here on the lookout for suspicious persons! Ha…lookout…and my name is Looker…Anyway, if you are to see me again, I have but one request: do not speak to me, because I am on important duty.”

“I have absolutely no problem with that,” Platinum said truthfully.

“Excellent,” Looker smiled. “Wait, wait, no, never mind that! You may speak to me. Actually, you must speak to me again! Not because I am lonely, of course, an elite policeman such as I is never lonely. You must inform me of any bad trainers you see, or of any happenings!”

“I’ll do that,” Platinum said, ready to head into the Pokémon Centre and escape the crazy as soon as she could.

“Before you go, Ms. Gold, I will offer you a word of wisdom! As you seem to be a trainer, heading into the Pokémon Centre, I will give you a suggestion. The building to the right of my hiding spot is the Pokémon Trainer School! There, you will learn all sorts of things about how best to master the art of training Pokémon!”

“Uh, thanks!” Platinum shot at him before hurrying inside the Centre.

Platinum healed her Pokémon and had a quick video call with her mother on the Centre’s videophone. She browsed through a rack of tourist attraction pamphlets, finding at the bottom of the rack a map of the entire Sinnoh region. This should come in handy, she thought. She studied the map, looking for the best way to get to the first gym. It seemed to be in Oreburgh City, which was to the east of Jubilife. Guess I’ll head there first, she thought.

As she exited the Pokémon Centre, Platinum took care not to look at the terribly hidden figure of Looker, still behind the lamppost. My mom was right, city people are insane, she thought.

As she passed by the Pokémon Trainer School, a shrivel of doubt passed over her. What if she wasn’t quite good enough to beat the first Gym? What if Barry was going to utterly humiliate her at her next battle?

After a moment of hesitation, she entered the building.

The first room she encountered was the main hall of the school. A friendly-looking secretary sat at the main desk.

“New trainer?” he inquired of her.

Platinum nodded.

“In that classroom over there, we have training on status conditions.” He pointed to the room to his left. “In that room, we have training on type matchups. In there, we have lessons about the different items you can use to help you on your journey. And finally, out there,” he gestured towards a door that led to the building’s yard, “we have some practical lessons. Enjoy!”

Platinum smiled and thanked him. She started with the lessons on type matchups, which reiterated things she already knew but also added on some new information. She found the item lesson quite useful, as she had only ever known of Pokéballs and Potions beforehand. Finally, she made her way into the lesson on status conditions. Platinum felt as if she already knew the topic quite well, but she reasoned that a bit of extra teaching wouldn’t hurt.

She was surprised to find only a single person in the room. She had expected a teacher and some other students, as in the other rooms, but a single blond sat near the front of the room, looking at the blackboard and scribbling furiously on what appeared to be a paper map like the one Platinum had found in the Pokémon Centre.

“Barry?” Platinum said incredulously.

While she wasn’t surprised to find the boy in Jubilife City, she was quite surprised to find him in a _school_. Although Barry was by no means stupid (not that she would ever tell him he wasn’t), his severe ADHD and overall unwillingness to sit still meant that he was not the biggest fan of studying and academics. Platinum had started to keep track of his attendance in the fifth grade; his record was sixty-four absences in their sophomore year. Somehow, he generally managed to scrape by, but not without copying Platinum’s homework every now and then.

“Am I hallucinating or are you studying?”

Barry turned to greet her. He didn’t seem too surprised that Platinum had found him here.

“For your information, Berlitz, studying isn’t so bad when the content isn’t insanely boring. Besides,” he pointed to a note on the blackboard, “the teacher for this subject isn’t here today and the note just says to copy everything down and you’re good. So I’ve got half an hour in here, tops.”

He turned back to his notetaking. Shrugging, Platinum took a seat next to him and grabbed a journal she had thought to bring on the journey with her. She, too, began taking down notes on the various types of status conditions a Pokémon can inflict and receive.

Due to his head start, Barry managed to wrap up his work before Platinum was even halfway through. To the girl’s chagrin, he refused to move on to something else and instead began to pepper Platinum with questions about her trip to Jubilife.

“Did you fight any trainers?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you win?”

“Yup.”

“See any wild Pokémon?”

“A few.”

“Did you catch any?”

“I sure did.”

“No fair, what did you get?”

“A Starly.”

“What did you-”

“Ahhh!” Platinum slammed her journal to the desk.

“I am _trying_ to copy this down!” she exclaimed.

“Jeez, no need to get pissy! It isn’t that hard to remember anyways, I doubt I’ll even look back at my notes,” he boasted.

“Fine, then what does a burn do?” Platinum asked him, rather haughtily.

“A burn is inflicted by some form of fire,” Barry recited, “and will continuously deal damage to a Pokémon until it is healed or has fainted.”

“That’s not true!” Platinum shot back. “A Pokémon can’t move when it’s been burned.”

Barry guffawed loudly. “Wrong! Rookie mistake, Berlitz. A Pokémon can _definitely_ move when it’s been burnt. Anyways, look at the notes on the board. Doesn’t say anything about Pokémon not moving when burnt, does it?”

Platinum looked back at the blackboard. She looked back at Barry. She quickly stood up and grabbed the eraser next to the blackboard.

“What are you doing?” Barry yelled.

“Fixing this dumbass school’s mistakes,” Platinum told him stubbornly.

Seeing as the blackboard was nearly as tall as the ceiling, even a relatively tall girl such as Platinum struggled to reach the top. Unfortunately for her, the notes on burns were at the very top. Platinum stretched up as far as she could, barely reaching the words. She erased what she could, and then grabbed a piece of chalk to put down what she so adamantly believed was the right information.

As soon as she stood up, Barry had wanted to get up and stop her. Whatever she was writing would undoubtedly confuse the next Trainer who came in, considering the information was downright wrong. However, another, more primal desire, kept him in his seat.

Platinum had had to get on her tiptoes and stretch as high as she possibly could in order to get to the top of the blackboard. As any skirt-wearer would know, a skirt will ride up when a person stretches. Platinum, an avid skirt-wearer, knew this herself. However, her current indignation managed to get in the way of her common sense and cause her to completely forget this crucial fact.

Barry watched her from his seat as she went up, up, up, each movement exposing a bit more of her upper thigh. He prayed silently that she would continue to stretch. Just a tiny bit more and he would catch a glimpse of- damn it, not quite high enough. Barry suddenly did not care about correcting Platinum’s gaping misconception on burns. There were more important things on his mind, such as hoping beyond hope that he really _had_ managed to, well, ‘tap that’ on the drunken night neither could remember.

As Platinum finished putting down her ‘new and improved’ notes and turned back to Barry, crossing her arms, something magical happened. Barry did not quite know how or why it happened, but the fact remained that Platinum’s short skirt managed to snag on to some hook on the side of the board and lift _all_ the way up. Her black-and-red panties were on full display.

Something even more amazing (well, for Barry, that was) happened next: Platinum did not notice. She simply stood there, smugly, watching him. Although Barry desperately wanted to keep looking, he also did not want to embarrass and violate his friend. “Uh, Platinum, your, uh…”

He pointed helplessly towards her crotch area.

Platinum looked down and immediately snatched her skirt away, cheeks flushed. “Well, don’t look!” she yelled angrily, and stormed out of the classroom.

Barry remained seated as Platinum left. He gathered up his notes and shoved them into his bag. He smiled. Today had been a good day.


	6. Rock Hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: smut starts here

Platinum spent the night at the  Jubilife City Pokémon Centre, doing her best to ignore Barry, who was also sleeping at the Centre. She wasn’t mad at him, simply embarrassed- yet again, she had allowed him to see her in an extremely embarrassing situation. She got up early the next morning and set off as dawn rose in order to avoid him.

Platinum found making her way through Route 203 to be relatively easy. She encountered few trainers and avoiding wild Pokémon was as simple as avoiding the tall grass. She hummed to herself as she carried along. She had never really been this far from home before, and although the landscape was still very similar to what she was accustomed to, she couldn’t help but feel as if she was exploring a whole new world. A few hours and several  kilometres of hills later, Platinum found herself at the entrance of a cave. There didn’t seem to be any other path.

She pulled out her map and looked at it closely. Ah, she had missed this the first time. It seemed as if she needed to make her way through a cave in order to reach  Oreburgh City. She headed in, rather uneasily, considering she was not a huge fan of small, darkly lit spaces. 

Her map showed the cave as a small tunnel passage that required little navigation, but Platinum discovered that she could not even see the exit. She quickly pulled out her  Pokéballs ; she asked  Chimchar to light the way with his flaming body and as for  Starly , to please keep the  Zubat away (Platinum had never actually encountered a  Zubat , but she had the feeling that they would be pretty terrifying). Together, she and her Pokémon made their way through, fighting off any wild Pokémon, as Platinum figured the extra EXP would be useful in the upcoming gym battle. Finally, the team saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and the trio hurried through.

It was mid-afternoon in  Oreburgh City, but the sun’s hot rays did not make the  city seem any warmer or more inviting. Platinum was immediately turned off by the area. Surrounded by mountain,  Oreburgh was a medium-sized city characterized by the huge mines in its southern area. Passerby seemed weary and tired, streaked with dirt from their work in the mines. The total lack of vegetation was not helped by the strong scent of coal that seemed to permeate the air. I won’t spend more time here than I have to, Platinum told herself. She hurried to the Pokémon Centre, passing the Gym on her way. Once her Pokémon were healed, she retraced her steps to find herself at the threshold of the  Oreburgh City Gym. I can do this, she thought. She gripped her  Pokéballs tightly and grabbed the door.

To Platinum’s annoyance, the door to the Gym was locked. She tugged on it fruitlessly.

“Gym leader’s out right now,” a voice called to her.

Platinum turned to see a miner passing by. “Do you know where he is?” she asked politely.

“Mines,” the man told her starkly before continuing on his way.

Crossing her arms, Platinum waited by the side of the door. She most definitely did  _ not _ want to go traversing down dirty mine shafts to find a Gym leader who really should have been at his Gym. After several minutes, however, she came to the conclusion that she was going to have to hunt down the Leader herself. Grumbling, she headed towards the south of town. 

Platinum was surprised by the lack of security at the mine. Although a few workers gave her some strange looks, she was not once asked for any form of ID. Perhaps it was normal for Gym  challengers to have to go spelunking down in the mines to find the runaway Leader? Him not being there is really quite unprofessional, Platinum thought. 

Platinum descended into the mine, noting with annoyance that she would have to go quite deep in order to reach the area where people worked. After several flights of stairs, Platinum finally reached the bottom floor.

Before her was an enormous mound of black rock-coal. Workers navigated around the mound in apparent chaos, although Platinum assumed there was more to the work than what met the eye. Machines whirred and whizzed as coal was collected and then placed on conveyor belts leading up and out of the mines. The task appeared grueling, but most appeared to be in good spirits as they spoke with their colleagues next to them, laughing and telling stories.

At the  centre of it all stood a young man who appeared to be in charge, judging by the clipboard in his right hand and the pencil furiously taking notes based on what his subordinates frequently reported to him. He had shoulder-length, reddish hair and a pair of black frames rested upon his nose. Like the other workers, he wore a hard hat and a rather ugly, but practical, work outfit along with black steel-toed boots. If it had not been for the dreadful work-appropriate clothing, Platinum would have thought of him as quite cute. She approached him carefully, hugging the walls in her best attempt to stay out of the way.

He spoke to her before she could quite reach him. “Gym challenger?” he asked. His voice was exceptionally deep.

“How did you know?”

The man laughed. “You aren’t dressed in mine clothes. And not only are you a Gym challenger, but you definitely aren’t from around here, am I right?”

Platinum nodded, surprised. “I’m from Twinleaf Town.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Twinleaf, really…I had you pegged as a  Jubilife girl the moment I saw that skirt.”

Did he mean her skirt was more stylish than the girls that lived around here, or more slutty?

Platinum did not particularly care what he meant, however. Much like her hometown, the city did not strike her as much of a fashion-forward area. No doubt the Gym leader was not well-versed in the intricacies of women’s style.

“I’d like to challenge the Gym,” she said confidently.

“I figured as such. I’ll accompany you there, give me a moment, please.”

He spoke to a few miners and handed one his clipboard before stepping down from his platform overlooking the mine.

He escorted Platinum out and struck up a conversation as they headed towards the Gym. “My name is Roark. As you saw over there, I manage the city’s mine when there are no challengers at the Gym. It just…can get a bit tricky when I have work to  do  at the mine and no way of knowing when challengers arrive. Thankfully, most of you guys don’t mind coming to get me too much!”

He chuckled softly. He seemed to have trouble looking directly at Platinum’s eyes. Was he shy? Despite his miner’s outfit, Platinum couldn’t help but think his reserved nature was a bit cute. 

“I’m Platinum,” she told Roark, offering him a winning smile.

“That’s  kinda funny!” he laughed.

Noticing her immediate glare, he quickly added, “it’s just, I’m a miner and your name is Platinum. It’s a beautiful name! But I was thinking of a joke I could make about mining you and it made me laugh.”

Platinum’s glare intensified as Roark took a moment to  understand why she was so upset. “No, no, I didn’t mean it like that either!” he scrambled to tell he r.

He blushed profusely. “All I meant to say is I like your  name. It’s unique.”

Platinum did not really appreciate all the fuss strangers seemed to make about her name, but Roark seemed to be genuine and she did not get the impression that he wanted to make fun of her. Besides, the redness creeping up his face was  really quite cute.

Platinum smiled at him. “Thanks.”

“It's getting dark out,” Roark noted in a desperate attempt to change the flow of conversation. 

Platinum nodded in agreeance. She checked her watch. “Almost five o'clock, actually.”

“Huh, today went by pretty fast!”

They had almost made it to the Gym. “Wait, five o'clock?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“Shit!” Roark exclaimed. “Goddamnit it...”

“What's going on?” Platinum asked, suddenly concerned.

“The Gym closes at 5,” Roark explained. 

“Well...it's not five just yet,” Platinum said tentatively. 

Roark sighed. “I'm really sorry, I would let you in if I could. But the Gym is tied to the mine, and we've got a union and everything, and there's absolutely no overtime for anyone, not even me.”

Platinum was annoyed, and she let it show. “Is every Gym like this?”

“No, don't worry, only mine is!”

Despite being the Gym Leader and she just a lowly challenger, Roark seemed quite intent on pleasing her. Platinum thought nothing of it; she was rather used to men bending over backwards for her. She was so used to it, in fact, that she barely even noticed the phenomenon, and instead seemed to believe that men just really were that nice, and their excessive friendliness had nothing at all to do with the fact that she was objectively drop-dead gorgeous. For an intelligent girl, she could be quite oblivious.

“Tomorrow morning, then?” Platinum had resigned herself to a boring evening cooped up in the sleeping quarters of the  Pokemon Centre.

“We open at nine, I can battle you then,” Roark promised.

Platinum accepted, satisfied, and immediately began towards the  Pokemon Centre. 

“Hey, wait,” he called after her.

Platinum turned. 

“We could grab some drinks tonight, if you want...I can show you around town?”

Platinum considered the proposition. She had planned on doing some hardcore training to prepare for her upcoming battle. But despite her distaste for the grimy city, it might just be a fun time.

“Sure!”

“I'll meet you here later this evening,” he told her. 

As she had dinner at the Centre that evening, Platinum considered the implications of Roark's invite. It was a general rule that Gym Leaders did not invite most challengers out for drinks. But was Roark simply being friendly, interested in making a new connection with a promising young trainer? Or was he hoping for more?

After some rumination, Platinum decided she did not mind either way.

Later that evening, she met Roark at the front of the Centre. She had chosen a flowy black dress, loose enough to avoid being provocative, but tight enough to show off. To Platinum's delight, Roark no longer sported his miner's outfit and helmet, and instead wore a nice-looking t-shirt with a pair of dark jeans. She got the feeling this was as dressed up as Roark ever  got, and was secretly flattered.

“You look nice,” he stammered.

“Thank you!  So do you.”

Platinum had officially confirmed her suspicion; Roark was taking her on a date.

“So where are we going?” she asked him.

“Well, where do you want to go?”

Platinum laughed. “You're the one who lives here! I have no idea what there is to do around here.”

Again, that adorable blush. “I didn't think of that. Well, there's this one place us miners usually go after work?”

“Lead the way,” Platinum told him.

The dingy pub looked  more or less as Platinum had expected. It was dimly lit and crowded of men and women, some of them still in their dirty clothes from their work at the mine. There was quite a bit of shouting and some friendly jostling near the pool table. A few raised their eyebrows at Roark and then glanced at Platinum, seemingly questioning him on the identity of his date. 

Platinum was uncomfortable with the crowd, but she didn't want to risk insulting Roark's hangout spot. She followed him to a table near the back of the room, where thankfully people seemed to be a bit quieter, and less rowdy. They ordered drinks, and Platinum was happy to note that Roark's awkwardness seemed to vanish at the first drop of his liquid courage.

“ So if you're here, this is probably your first Gym challenge, right?” Roark asked.

Platinum nodded. “Yup. I came here straight from Twinleaf!”

“ So you probably just turned 18?” he noted. “I remember when I first set off on a journey. I didn't become the Champion, like every kid wants to be,” he chuckled, “but I'm pretty happy where I am now.”

“How long have you been the Gym Leader?” Platinum asked. 

Roark thought about it for a moment. “Two years, maybe? I started when I turned 19, and I'm 21 now. I'm not originally from  here, actually . I grew up in  Canalave City, if you know where that is? Then I came down here to work in the mines, and I got hired as the Gym Leader in a matter of months. I'm not a native, but I really do love this city.”

Platinum chose her words carefully. “I'm more of a big city girl myself, but what do you like about here, exactly?”

Roark laughed. “I know  Oreburgh isn't for everyone. It's dirty, and just about the only jobs here are mining jobs. But that's how it's been here for...well, for hundreds and hundreds of years, really. I guess if you compare us to some other  Sinnoh regions, we're  pretty damn poor in comparison. I think we're the happiest fucking city in the world, but we aren't doing so well economically. People make just enough to get by and have a drink or two in their spare time, these days. It used to be a lot better, but wind and solar energy, shit like that is taking over coal. In a decade or two, this will be a ghost town, and the people whose families have been here for centuries will be forced out. But for  now ...” he slid one of the shots he had just ordered towards Platinum, “we drink!”

It was very late by the time the two decided to make their departure, but the bar was still nearly as full as it had been at happy hour. Roark walked Platinum back towards the Centre, but he seemed rather fidgety the whole time. Finally, as they stood in front of the doors, he made his move.

“Platinum, do you want to come back to my place?”

She raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I wasn't really expecting that,” she said truthfully.

“Did you expect this?”

Roark leaned forward and kissed her deeply. She clutched at his long reddish hair. 

He pulled away from her. “You don't have to come with me, but I  kinda needed to do that. Sorry.”

He scratched his head as Platinum studied him. She smiled. “Show me the way.”

Roark lived in a large- ish apartment over a grocery store in the  centre of town. It wasn't the most well-decorated, but it was clean and tidy, which Platinum found to be an immense improvement compared to the bar. She took a seat on his couch as Roark served her yet another drink. 

“I never quite asked you what your goals are,” he said to her. “Would I be right to assume you want to be the Champion?”

Platinum shook her head. “Dead wrong, actually. I'm just completing the Gym challenge on my way to  Hearthome City. I want to be a master Coordinator.”

Roark whistled. “I haven't met too many aspiring Coordinators from around here! But I can see that in you. You've got a sort of...refinement that most people don't have. Especially not me,” he laughed. 

“Hey, I'm sure you would look great in a cute pink dress and a tiara!”

They both roared in laughter. Roark put his hand on Platinum's thigh, and she moved a bit closer to him. Suddenly, they were making out.

Platinum shifted to straddle Roark, kissing him hard as TV reruns played in the background. Roark reached under her dress to grab hold of her waist, slowly moving down until his hands traced the shape of her ass. Platinum felt something hard press against her thigh as Roark picked her up and carried her to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. He placed her gently on his bed as Platinum pulled him on top of her. She pulled off his shirt,  revealing perfectly sculpted muscles, and fiddled with the buckle of his belt as Roark kissed her neck savagely. Platinum pulled his pants down and eyed his sizeable bulge in anticipation. 

Roark did not allow her to pull any more clothes off him, and instead pulled up Platinum's dress. He kissed the inside of her thighs until they turned red with little marks. He ignored her crotch area for the time being and helped her slip off her dress, revealing the rest of her body. She wore a matching set of bright yellow lingerie, a strange  colour choice but one that seemed to fit her perfectly.

Roark seemed to be on another plane entirely as he gazed at Platinum's body. His loss for words was perhaps more flattering than anything he could have said.

“I need to get a condom,” he mumbled.

He opened one of the drawers to his dresser. Platinum sat up to watch him. He rustled through the drawer, eventually finding what he was looking for and pulling it out triumphantly. 

“What was that in there?” Platinum asked him innocently.

“Just a condom,” he replied quickly, holding it up.

“It looked like something else to me...”

Platinum got up and joined Roark next to his dresser. He made no move to stop her, but she noticed that he had yet again gone red in the face. She rummaged through his drawer and pulled out what she had seen.

“Ah-ha!” It was a pair of handcuffs. 

“Those were for Halloween, I swear!”

“Then why are they in the same drawer as your condoms, your lube and. .. some rope?”

He had no reasonable explanation. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to see that.”

Platinum guffawed. “You don't have to be  embarrassed; you know. Do you use these on someone else? Or do they use it on you?” She smirked devilishly.

“ Myself ,” he whispered.

That was not the reply Platinum had expected, but it was the reply she had hoped for. She pushed Roark back towards his bed.

It is important to take a moment here to note that Platinum Berlitz was no stranger to the intricacies of sex. While the men of Twinleaf Town were not quite up to her standards for a steady relationship, she still had needs to be met. But despite her resume's worth list of sexual  experience , Platinum had never quite gone beyond the vanilla side of things. This was through no fault of her own- not too many Twinleaf Town boys would accept being tied up by a woman, unfortunately.

Platinum handcuffed Roark to his bed, who was still speechless. She placed her hand on his bulge. She was delighted to find it wet and dripping with precum already. Platinum unhooked her bra and unceremoniously shoved her  tits in Roark's face, who moaned in appreciation. She forced her nipple into his mouth, which he dutifully sucked. 

Figuring she should relieve him of his torture, Platinum pulled down Roark's boxers to reveal a generously sized, shaven cock. “You prepared for tonight?” she teased him gently.

She went to work on it, taking him deep into her throat. Roark seemed in  bliss and did not even struggle against the handcuffs as she sucked. After a few minutes, Platinum removed her panties. 

“Oh, god,” said Roark.

“He speaks!” Platinum exclaimed.

She got on top of him and began to tease him, rubbing her pussy on the tip of his member. When even she could resist no longer, she sat on his cock, and began to ride him rather aggressively. To Platinum's delight, Roark lasted quite long. They came together, sweaty and exhausted. Platinum fell asleep at his side nearly immediately, to the dismay of Roark. She cuddled up next to him, and she looked so beautiful that he would not allow himself to wake her up.

When Platinum awoke the next morning, sunlight streaming through the curtains, she began to laugh. She laughed so long and so hard that she managed to wake up her sleeping partner. 

“What is it?” he muttered, confused.

“You didn't wake me up,” she managed through fits of laughter, “so instead you just stayed handcuffed to the bed all night?”

Roark said nothing. “The key's in the drawer.”

Platinum laughed as she freed him, laughed as they had a quick breakfast together, and laughed as they entered the Gym together for her very first Gym battle.


	7. Flowers for Platinum

Platinum stared Roark down from her end of the Gym arena. She knew Roark specialized in Rock types, and so far, her team consisted solely of  Pokemon weak to  Rock-type moves. She was going to do her best, but she wasn't quite sure if her best would be enough.

Roark chose Geodude as his first as Platinum sent out  Starly . Geodude seemed rather slow, and it was Platinum's hope that  Starly's ability to fly would allow it to overpower its opponent. 

The  Pokemon zipped across the arena, Platinum's  Starly flinging itself out of harm's way as soon as it could land an attack. Just as the  Pokemon seemed too exhausted to continue,  Starly launched a Gust that knocked Geodude off its nonexistent feet. Geodude could no longer get up;  Starly had won.

Platinum knew to save her excitement. Roark's next  Pokemon , Onix, was much too large to continue the same get in-and-get-out strategy she had employed with her  Starly . As she expected, after just a few turns, her  Starly fell to the ground.

“Thank you,” she whispered, returning it.

Chimchar, her only other  Pokemon , was up next. It seemed to know it was at a disadvantage, but that didn't stop it from doing the best it could. Through Flame Kicks and Scratches and Leers, Chimchar managed to take down the colossal  Pokemon that stood before it. It, too, did not celebrate just yet.

Finally, Roark's  Cranidos entered the scene. Chimchar showed no fear, as did Platinum, but they both most certainly felt it. 

The battle was a clash between  Pokemon of the highest  calibre . Each was fast and powerful, but the type advantage made the victor abundantly clear. Nevertheless, Platinum and Chimchar fought on. 

Just as  Cranidos managed to pin Chimchar to the ground, preparing for the fatal Headbutt, a glowing light filled the arena. Gym trainers rushed to the scene.

Chimchar had turned a brilliant bright white. Its features seemed to flicker in and out of existence as it released a guttural, instinctual sound of pain. In the blink of an eye, it was done, and underneath  Cranidos ' grasp was a new  Pokemon .

“You evolved,” Platinum gasped.

As she grasped for her  Pokedex to find out the identity of her partner, she did not falter in her resolve to win.

“Flame Kick, now!”

Her  Pokemon kicked  Cranidos off in a fit of flames and power. The  Pokemon squared off, staring at each other, as Platinum learned that Chimchar was now a Monferno. 

“Flicker, use Scratch!” 

Monferno glanced at his trainer. Flicker? It seemed to accept the new name.

Unfortunately for the  newly-evolved Pokemon ,  Cranidos was a bit less exhausted and thus a bit faster. It lunged at Flicker with a Headbutt, and Flicker was thrown across the room. Flicker slumped down, defeated. Roark had won.

Platinum ran to her  Pokemon . “Flicker,” she whispered. “Because there's always a flicker of fire left in us.” 

The  Pokemon lifted its head weakly in approval as she returned it. Platinum turned to shake hands with Roark.

She was surprised to find something cold and metallic pressed into her hand. “The Coal Badge,” he whispered to her.

“But I didn't win,” she told him blankly.

Roark shrugged. “You had two  Pokemon at a type disadvantage, and you still fought with me neck-to-neck until the end. If you caught more  Pokemon and came back here, you would cream me. You and that Monferno, especially, you're a force to be reckoned with.”

Platinum considered this. She knew Roark technically should not be giving away a Badge like this, but she also really did want to get on with her journey. She accepted the Badge with a passing remark:

“Maybe you're just making sure I'm not mad at you so I can come back for more fun some other time?”

Roark went red again. He didn't acknowledge the comment. “Just, good luck, Platinum.”

They shook hands again and Platinum left the Gym.

After healing up her  Pokemon , she studied her map to determine the next plan of action. To get to the next city with a Gym, she needed to go back through Jubilife City and up through Route 204. She went on her way.

As she was leaving Jubilife City, something on the route up ahead caught her eye. Could that be...?

She hurried forwards. 

Standing at the intersection between the last section of Jubilife City and the beginning of Route 204 was Professor Rowan, accompanied by Lucas. However, they were not alone. 

Two men stood in front of them, dressed in outlandish costumes. The ir outfits briefly reminded Platinum of what she and Barry had seen at Lake Verity. They wore black-and-white jackets of a strange texture paired with black pants and knee-high white boots. While their attire was strange, what was most peculiar were their matching turquoise-blue haircuts. How did they manage to have  exactly the same haircut? Was this  some kind of trend Platinum had somehow completely missed? Maybe being on the road is keeping me out of touch with fashion, she thought with a sudden burst of fear.

Whoever these strangers were, they seemed to be arguing with Lucas and the Professor. Platinum approached them carefully.

“You lot are being a complete nuisance!” The Professor was yelling at the  strangely-dressed individuals.

“You are loitering in an area that does not usually attract loiterers, which is both strange and very annoying. I was trying to have a conversation with this young man here when the two of you completely interrupted me! That is rude, so very rude! In my day, we respected our elders. Furthermore, there is no good reason for raising your voice when a person does not cave  in to your demands. All it shows is that you are a bunch of babies!”

Platinum found it rather amusing that the Professor was now yelling at the two.

“Also, you aren't strong just because you're in a group. Kids these days, terrified of going off alone but they all feel like the Champion as soon as they get with their little friends. And finally, what in  Arceus ' name are those outfits? What are you, spacemen? Planning on going off to the moon in between your bouts of loitering and bothering innocent people? And you!”

He pointed to the  oddly-dressed man on the left.

“Your roots are showing.”

He was right; dark brown began to show at the top of the man's head. 

“Ah,  Ms.Berlitz , just in time!”

He gestured wildly at the  strangely-dressed idiots. “Please show these two a lesson in civility.”

Platinum shrugged and approached Lucas' side.

She sent out Flicker while Lucas sent out his Turtwig. Their opponents chose a  Stunky and Glameow. Unsurprisingly, Platinum and Lucas made quick work of the pair of thugs. Ashamed, the pair scampered off back into Jubilife City. The Professor watched them go, his distaste evident. 

“Those two said they belonged to some kind of group, called themselves Team Galactic.”

He turned to Platinum and Lucas. “When  Pokemon evolve, they seem to release some type of energy. That is the focus of my studies. However, I believe that the type of energy released is mystical and totally out of our control. But this Team Galactic seems to be studying the potential of that mystical power. They want to use it as an energy source of sorts...still, they don't worry me too much. Not for now, anyways, they're quite weak. But I hope to  Arceus they don't get a hold of my research...Well, it's over now. Thanks to the two of you! I noticed you especially,  Ms.Berlitz . Apologies, Lucas, but battling is not your forte. Why don't you take on the Gym challenge? I know of your intention to compete in Contests, of course, but I think you would be an excellent candidate for the challenge. Anyways.”

He crossed his arms. “Lucas and I must be off. Until we meet again!”

Platinum waved to the two of them as they vanished back into the bustle of Jubilife City. She barely even considered the Professor's suggestion. She was simply collecting Badges on her way to  Hearthome City, and that was that.

Platinum had a strange feeling about the two men she had encountered, however. She couldn't  shake the feeling they were connected to the strange man she had met at the beginning of her journey.

It couldn't be a coincidence that they all happened to wear the same outlandish costumes. They must all have been part of the same organization. It definitely was not some strange new fashion- Platinum had the ability to sniff out a trend months before it hit the streets.

Whoever these people were, Platinum would not get any answers by staying in place. She ventured onwards towards Route 203.

Platinum felt as if she needed to train up her Pokemon's ability to fight at a type disadvantage. She had been humiliated after her first Gym battle, and although she was not usually one to let her pride get in the way of winning, she felt slight regret at having accepted the Coal Badge. I'll return later on to kick Roark's ass, Platinum promised herself.

The route was grassy and surrounded by dense forestry. The landscape was nauseatingly familiar to her. She could not wait to cross into the unknown, to see cities and landscapes she had only ever glimpsed from the pixels of her television screen. She pressed on, battling Trainers and wild Pokemon as she encountered them in order to become stronger. 

A certain species of  Pokemon seemed to give her  Starly a good amount of trouble:  Shinx , an electric type. The  Pokemon's charged attacks managed to bring  Starly down no matter how much faster  Starly could land its hits. She hadn't been able to defeat a single  Shinx and had instead resorted to running away whenever her  Starly became too fatigued to battle. Fortunately for her  Starly's stagnant battle prowess, Platinum had an idea.

As yet another Shinx popped out of the bushy tall grass and screamed its name at her, Platinum formulated a plan that would finally allow her Starly to train against an electric Pokemon. “Starly, go!”

The battle progressed as most Starly/Shinx matchups usually did. Starly seemed to gain the upper hand at first, soaring high above the other Pokemon and darting in for quick attacks. But Shinx's electric attacks soared just as high as the bird Pokemon, and before long Starly was forced on to the ground, struggling to spread its tiny wings and fly again.

Platinum shoved her hand into her bag, searching desperately for what she needed. She pulled out a Pokeball which she threw at her opponent. She crossed her fingers as the Pokeball shifted from side to side, and then stopped. 

“We did it!” she exclaimed.

She grabbed her Starly and gave it a quick kiss before returning it. She picked up the Shinx's Pokeball and smiled. Her team was doing good.

Once both Pokemon had rested sufficiently, Platinum continued to pit them against each other until Starly eventaully managed to gain the upper hand. Just as her Starly prepared to dart in for the final blow, a glowing white light blinded the eyes of all involved. This time, Platinum knew what was happening. She beamed with pride as a Staravia emerged from the light.

Following her map, Platinum was dismayed to find that she would have to traverse through yet another cave- the Ravaged Path. Luckily, this path was not too long, and she clutched her Pokeballs as she made her way quietly, attempting to avoid the Zubat. Platinum emerged an hour after her entrance into the Path on to the continuation of Route 204. This part of the route managed to pique her interest.

The path was not very long, but aside from the paved area the route was crammed with flowers. Blue, white, red, pink, yellow-Platinum could not identify any of the beautiful flowers on the route, but the sight would forever be imprinted into her memory. She picked a few flowers for her Pokemon.

As she exited the route, another flower-filled area impressed itself upon Platinum. This was Floaroma Town, otherwise known as the flower capital of Sinnoh. If Route 204 had been crammed with flowers, the picturesque little town was positively overflowing with them.

The town was larger than Twinleaf, but considerably smaller than the two cities Platinum had previously explored. Houses were small and nearly identical, characterized only by the unique patterns of flowers that adorned every possible inch on the houses. Flower pots boasted sunflowers from balconies while meagre front yards were stuffed with rose bushes, daisy patches, or marigolds. No two houses sported the same type of flowers, and Platinum wondered how difficult it must have been to coordinate this kind of organized asymmetry. 

Yet more flowers dominated lampposts and public buildings, and on the horizon of the town Platinum spotted a beautiful flowery meadow that stretched as far as the eye could see. This was not the  kind of  bustling city Platinum enjoyed, but even she could appreciate the  sickly sweet smell that permeated the air as just another charm of Floaroma Town. There was no Gym here, so Platinum had no reason to linger, but she found herself wishing to explore what she could.

After wandering somewhat aimlessly through the town, Platinum reasoned that she had seen everything there was to offer here. She checked in with her mother at the Pokemon Centre.

“It's a beautiful little town, isn't it?” Johanna smiled.

“I preferred Jubilife City,” Platinum admitted, “but Floaroma is a pretty great place if you're more of a nature person.”

“Have you seen the meadow?” Johanna asked.

Platinum shook her head.

“Platinum!” Johanna admonished her jokingly. “It's the highlight of the whole place. You really do need to go see it.”

“I want to get to Eterna City as soon as I can!” Platinum snapped.

Johanna rolled her eyes. “I talked with Barry's mom today, she said Barry was supposed to be in Floaroma Town all day today. If you didn't see him, maybe he's at the meadow?” she asked. 

“I'll go to the meadow,” Platinum agreed in a sour tone.

A path behind the Pokemon Centre led Platinum to the famed meadow. She admitted to herself that her mother had been right in pushing her to see this place. The flowers seemed to go on for miles, little patches of tulips growing intertwined with magnolias.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. Platinum yelped and turned.

“You scared me!” she shrieked.

Barry shrugged. “What can I say, I move like a ninja.”

She rolled her eyes. “Ninjas usually have like, cool outfits and good fighting skills. Meanwhile you're in a shirt two sizes too big and I defeated you at a type disadvantage.”

“Ah, Berlitz, I almost missed having you around for those good old insults disguised as jokes. Just so you know, I'm definitely way stronger than you are now.”

“Well, prove it,” Platinum said hotly.

Barry seemed to balk at this. “Well, not right now, I-”

“Scared?” Platinum taunted him.

“I just wanna check out the rest of this field,” Barry said uncertainly.

Platinum cocked an eyebrow. Together they walked through the expanse of flowers. 

“How have you been doing  on your journey  so far?” Platinum asked him.

“Awesome,” Barry grinned. “I've caught soooo many Pokemon. And I beat Roark for the Coal Badge, by the way. Did you?”

“Of course!” Platinum said. She felt a twinge of jealousy that Barry had managed to defeat Roark while she hadn't. “Did you find it hard?” she asked quietly.

“Nah, it was a breeze!”

At this, Barry plopped himself down into the flowers. He lay back, resting his head on his bag. Platinum looked down at him.

“Platinum, get down, you're blocking the sun.”

“There's probably bugs down there. I don't want to get down.”

Barry rolled his eyes. Before long, Platinum reluctantly joined him. They watched the clouds.

“That one looks like a dick.” Barry pointed upwards.

Platinum squinted. “It kind of does,” she agreed. She paused. “Ew.”

Barry chuckled. “Oh, poor innocent Platinum, scared of male genitalia. What ever will she do.”

“I'm not afraid of male genitalia,” Platinum retorted.

“Then why do you call it 'male genitalia' instead of a penis, huh?”

“Cause you started by saying male genitalia! Dick, penis, cock. Member. Sexual organ. I can't think of any other word for it but if I could, I would say it.”

“Proves nothing,” Barry shrugged. “If you really weren't afraid you wouldn't have been so freaked out when you saw mine!”

Barry's face turned to regret.

“What the fuck, Barry?” Platinum immediately sat up.

“I didn't mean that, I know that went too far, I'm sorry!” he pleaded quickly.

“We both know that was a mistake, asshole! You don't need to be bringing it up all the time! I just think it's so creepy because you're supposed to be my best  friend but you keep on perving  on me. I've always known you  wanna fuck me but sometimes it seems like that's the only reason you want to hang out with me!”

Platinum grabbed her bag and stormed out of the meadow as Barry sat, motionless. He buried his face in his hands. Platinum was his best and most treasured friend, how could she think that about him? Well, he did want to fuck her, but that had never been his only intention. Far from it...

From his bag he pulled out a fresh, but rather crumpled bouquet of vivid red roses he had spent the morning hunting for in the meadow. He threw it as far as he could.

His Piplup seemed to sense something was up. It released itself from its Pokeball. “Why does she have to be such a fucking bitch?” he said to no one in particular.

“Piplup?” His Pokemon looked up at him.

He grabbed his faithful companion and hugged it tightly.


	8. A Budding Friendship

Platinum stalked away from the meadow, glad that Barry had not followed her. She knew she had overreacted, but she didn't really care. She was ashamed of herself for  possibly  having slept with him in the first place and she hated every reminder of it.

It wasn't that she felt bad at having slept with a random person on her prom night. She was no stranger to one-night stands. But Barry was her best friend, the person she was closest to. Although she bickered with him endlessly, she held a deep platonic love for her  friend and she was angry at the  both of them for possibly having done something to jeopardize that love. 

Platinum's anger would fade soon, she knew that. She did feel somewhat bad for having abandoned Barry in the field, but she knew from  past experience that he wouldn't hold it against her. That's how it always went with the two; Platinum got  pissy , Barry patched things up. She liked that about him.

It was mid-afternoon, but nonetheless Platinum decided to follow the route to Eterna City. The constant sweet  and  flowery smell was starting to take its toll on her. She began to cross the bridge that would officially take her from the outskirts of Floaroma and onwards to Route 205. 

“Miss, please! Please wait for me!”

Platinum turned, bewildered. The owner of the high-pitched voice that had just  _ squeaked _ at her was a tiny little girl, eight or nine years old, dressed in a flowery dress with a big red ribbon in her hair. She appeared panicked. 

“You have to help me!” she demanded. “Bad guys in spacesuits took my dad! And they said they would take me, too, but I got away. You're a trainer, you have to help me!” She pointed at Platinum.

Although the little girl's tone was a bit too demanding for Platinum's taste, she felt an immediate sort of approval for the girl. Her forceful tone and intent on getting what she wanted reminded Platinum of herself as a child. Besides, the 'bad guys in spacesuits' intrigued her. Could this be the same group of people she had encountered with Lucas and Professor Rowan?

“Where are they?” Platinum asked. “No promises, but I'll help as much as I can.”

The girl beamed. “Thanks, miss! Follow me!”

Platinum quickened to a jog to keep up with her. Windmills dotted the road, serving as a sort of landmark in order to find the building that stood next to the water at the end of the path. A large sign read 'VALLEY WINDWORKS'.

“Is this where they make wind power into energy?” she asked the girl.

The little girl  nodded, her eyes wide. “My daddy works here,” she explained. “I came to work with him today, but then  all of a sudden , these guys came busting through the door with scary-looking  Pokemon . Then a mean lady with red hair took my daddy into another room and she was going to come back for me but then I ran out through the window. Then I found you!”

Platinum listened to this with a weary sort of resignation. It was now going to be up to  _ her _ to fight this nefarious group off and find this girl's father. 

As they watched, the door to the building creaked open and out popped a man wearing the same strange uniform as the men Platinum and Lucas had fought. Her suspicions were confirmed that the same  ‘ spacemen ’ group was responsible. Team Galactic, the Professor had called them?

The blue-haired man quickly locked the door and shoved the key into his pockets before crossing his arms and glaring at Platinum and the girl.

Platinum approached him. “Hey, mind letting me in?”

The grunt raised an eyebrow. “Who are  _ you _ ?” he sneered.

“Uh...new recruit?” Platinum tried.

He guffawed and said nothing.

Platinum shrugged. Guess her only way in would be a battle.

“ Shinx , go!” Platinum shouted.

The grunt  sprung into action. Before long, a Glameow stood before Platinum's  Shinx .

“Use Spark!” Platinum ordered.

The Glameow stood no chance.  Shinx had proven itself an exceptionally powerful  Pokemon .

The grunt eyed her wearily before producing a card key from his pockets. “Don't tell anyone you got this from me,” he grumbled, tossing it at her before dashing from the scene.

Platinum glanced back at the little girl who excitedly cheered her on. Platinum shoved in the key and opened the door to the Valley  Windworks .

She found herself in some type of laboratory. The hallway before her was sterile and pristine with nothing but a vending machine as furniture. There was no one here, though; she would have to go down the hallway to find the kidnapped man. She treaded as quietly as she could.

She cracked open the door at the end of the hall. A woman whipped around to meet her eyes.

“Who are you?” the woman asked simply.

She, too, wore a 'space' suit, but her costume seemed to be altered. Over her strange black pants, she wore a black-and-white tubed skirt that extended over her hips like a balloon. Her hair was shoulder-length and impossibly bright red.

“More like who are  _ you _ ?” Platinum asked more firmly.

The woman seemed surprised at Platinum's brazen attitude. She laughed softly and drew herself up to her full height.

“Commander Mars of Team Galactic,” she said. “We're trying to create a world better than the current...a utopia. But people don't seem to  understand what we do. You don't either, do you? Just like him...”

She jerked her thumb towards a man sitting at a computer, bound to his chair by thick rope. He watched the interaction from the corner of his eye, typing frantically.

“We were just trying to get a little info on wind power, but someone just wouldn't give it up willingly.”

She rolled her eyes. “Little Miss Perky Tits here to rescue him?”

Platinum instinctively crossed her arms at the strange remark. Mars approached. Platinum shuddered as Mars traced a finger down the side of Platinum's face. Platinum stepped back. “What are you doing?” Platinum said angrily. 

“What a pretty face,” Mars whispered. 

She was much too close for Platinum's liking. She shoved her away. “You can't just kidnap people,” Platinum pointed to the restrained man, “it's fucking illegal.”

“So that's what you want,” Mars smirked.

“Tell you what, princess...”.

Platinum hated the way the commander drew out every syllable, “let's battle. I win, you leave. You win, I leave. Simple?”

Platinum begrudgingly accepted. 

“ Ew , a Zubat,” Platinum whispered as her opponent drew out the dreaded bat  Pokemon . Platinum knew just what to do. “ Shinx , go!”

The  Pokemon seemed to sense the urgency of this  particular battle , its blue fur  rising up with crackling electricity. “ Shinx , Spark!”

“Zubat, dodge!”

The chosen arena was not large. The  Pokemon knocked over bookshelves and office plants and very nearly toppled a PC. 

Zubat was fast, but  Shinx was fast _ er _ . Before long, Mars' Zubat had crumbled to the floor, shuddering involuntarily with residue sparks of electricity. The redhead had no visible reaction as she returned the Zubat. Out next came a  Purugly .

“ Glameow's evolution,” Platinum breathed, pulling out her  Pokedex . 

Shinx did its best against the larger cat, but in its weakened state, it could not keep up. The  Pokemon fainted. Platinum hurried to it, cradling it in her arms. Her resolve hardened.

“Flicker, go!”

Purugly seemed to falter slightly at the monkey's fiery gaze. Platinum took the extra time where she could.

“Mach Punch!” she yelled.

Before  Purugly knew it, its side was shoved with the force of a powerful fighting-type move. It winced, retaliating immediately.

Platinum had to give it to the commander; this  Purugly was no easy opponent. Still, Platinum was confident. In a moment of confusion in which  Purugly seemed to not understand its trainer's command, Flicker delivered a fatal Mach Punch to  Purugly's head. The cat lay defeated.

Mars scowled as she returned her  Pokemon . “Let's go,” she called out.

A few grunts emerged from the backroom.

“We have everything we need anyways,” Mars grinned at Platinum as she passed her. “I just thought it might be nice to play with you a bit.”

As soon as Team Galactic left, Platinum rushed to the bound man. She ripped off the tape covered on his mouth and began to remove the rope.

“Thank you!” he gasped. “I cannot thank you enough!”

His gaze suddenly darkened. “Have you seen my daughter?”

An annoyingly high-pitched squeal erupted from the hall.

“DADDY!” the little girl screeched, throwing herself into the arms of her now-freed father. He spun the girl around in delight.

“What's your name?” the man asked kindly.

“I'm Platinum. Platinum Berlitz,” she replied. She couldn't help but smile at the happy reunion.

“What did they want with you?” she asked of him.

The scientist shook his head. “They wanted reports on the technical aspects of our operation, wanted to know how it was all done...it's public info, honestly, they could have gone to a library and figured it all out. Instead they forced me to come up with the company's documents and scared the shit out of me and my daughter.”

Platinum expressed her sympathies. “But what's back there? I saw some of those guys come out of that room.” She pointed behind her.

“Storage,” the man explained. “Would you mind checking it out in case there's anyone back there? I would do it myself, but I'm not a trainer, you know, and well, uh...”

Platinum had turned already. She didn't enjoy listening to excuses. 

The room was dark, and Platinum fumbled as she searched for a light switch. There seemed to be a strange whimpering noise from the back of the room. Could it be another hostage?

She pushed aside a cart full of manila folders. Her heart nearly broke.

Huddled in the corner was a  Pokemon . Platinum could identify that its main  colouring was green, but the  Pokemon was covered in bruises, bleeding and scratches. It could barely move, but it attempted to crawl away as Platinum approached it.

“What did they do to you?” Platinum could not help it; a tear rolled down her cheek. She grabbed her  Pokedex in an attempt to identify the poor thing.

The robotic voice of the device identified the  Pokemon as a Budew. It listed a few basic facts about the  Pokemon's diet and habitat. 

“Evolves into Roselia upon high friendship with a trainer,” the voice finished.

Evolution? Platinum thought. She remembered the Professor telling her Team Galactic was intent on discovering more on evolution. Might they have kidnapped and tortured this  Pokemon to learn more about its unique method of  evolution ?

Turning back to the matter at hand, Platinum considered her options. She was most definitely not going to  _ leave _ the poor thing there. Perhaps she could take it to the  Pokemon Centre? But then again, the traumatized Budew would probably be resistant and fearful.

She knew what to do.

Rummaging in her ever-so-useful adventuring bag, Platinum found several little bottles of Potions- a type of healing spray. She hadn't had to use one yet, but she understood the premise.

“This might feel a little  cold,” she whispered to the  Pokemon apologetically. 

To Platinum's surprise, the product worked immediately.  Budew's injuries seemed to heal before her very eyes. As she finished off a second and even third bottle, Budew even managed to get to its feet and survey the room.

It was an exceptionally cute  Pokemon . It had no arms, and its little face sat nestled beneath the large bud on top of its head. Platinum stretched out her hand, but this time Budew didn't flinch. It looked at her.

“I'm glad you're okay,” she told it.

Cautiously, she began to pet the healed  Pokemon .

It immediately launched itself at Platinum. She had expected an attack, but Budew seemed to have no interest in hurting her. Instead, it said its name happily, over and over, as Platinum continued to pet it. She hugged the  Pokemon close to her. How long had the poor thing been tortured for it to react this way at the slightest kindness?

She picked it up, Budew showing no signs of distress. “I'll bring you back out in the wild,” she told it.

Exiting the building, she placed the little  Pokemon near some trees. It remained there, watching her. Platinum hoped the trauma it had experienced at the hands of the nef arious Team Galactic hadn’t scarred it too badly.

A  strangely accented voice came from behind her. 

“Miss Gold! What a funny thing that I have found you here!”

To Platinum’s bewilderment, the strange man she had met hiding behind a lamppost in Jubilife City now stood before her wearing the same camel- coloured trenchcoat . What  could he possibly have been doing here?

“I bear important news from the International Police. It is  _ integral _ for your safety that you do not enter this building!”

He gestured wildly at the Valley  Windworks .

“And why is that?” 

“Team Galactic, my dear! They have taken control of the building! So, naturally, I came at high speed. This is a matter for me. Step aside!”

Had he waited a few seconds longer, Platinum might have told him that she had already taken care of the problem. But he did seem to be in quite the rush. She shrugged and left the area , towards Route 205 .

The road to Eterna Forest boasted a long, deep blue river that splashed and rippled with life. Platinum  imagined a multitude of water  Pokemon lurking just below the surface.

The realization made her stop. Perhaps a water type would be a useful addition to her team? Remembering her painful attempt at obtaining the Coal Badge, Platinum knew she needed at least one  Pokemon that could hold its own in a match against a R ock or Ground type. A Water type would be the perfect fit. 

The only obstacle was how, exactly, she would manage to get one of these Water types.

Although she had packed her adventuring bag meticulously before leaving Twinleaf Town, Platinum had neglected to bring along a fishing rod. Why would she have brought one? It wasn’t  as if fishing ability was one of the judg ment categories in a Contest. But now, with her newfound inclination towards battling, she sorely regretted the omission.

She seated herself on the ground and sent out her team, hoping they would somehow inspire ingenuity.  Shinx was still too weak to battle, although it managed to crawl into Platinum’s lap for some affection. As Platinum gazed at her powerful-looking  Staravia , an idea took hold.

As  Staravia skirted the air above the river, Platinum watched the waters intently. “Now!” she exclaimed as a splash and the flick of a tail emerged to the surface.

Staravia shot down, stretching out its sharp talons. From the river it pulled out a struggling orange  Pokemon which kicked and flipped as much as it could. Squa wking in effort,  Staravia dropped the  Pokemon on dry land as Platinum grabbed her  Pokedex and identified the orange  Pokemon as a Buizel. This wasn’t the fish  Pokemon that Platinum had in mind,  but the dual nature of a  Pokemon that could stand on land as well as it could swim appealed to her.

“ Staravia , Quick Attack!”

The bird lunged towards the Buizel at breakneck speed. The otter  Pokemon was pushed back but retaliated immediately with a burst of water from its mouth, causing  Staravia to drop for a moment.

Staravia returned to the  Pokemon again, this time with a Peck that knocked Buizel backwards again. The pattern repeated itself  with quick lunges from  Staravia and immediate comebacks from Buizel.

Out of nowhere, the voice of another little  Pokemon entered the fray. Platinum turned in shock as a Budew came on to the scene and rushed at Buizel, tackling it. Buizel quickly shot back a Water Gun, but the attack didn’t seem to  faze the newc omer. Then, with  a sudden burst of green light from Budew, Buizel flopped to the ground and remained there, fainted.

Although Platinum was shocked by the sudden intrusion, she had never been one to take her eyes off the prize. She quickly threw a  Pokeball at the fainted Buizel,  capturing it. Then she turned to the newcomer. She had a feeling this was the same Budew she had just rescued at the Valley  Windworks . She crouched down and offered out her hand.

The  Pokemon immediately came to her and said its name happily. This is  definitely the same one, she thought. 

“Did you follow me here?” she asked it, rubbing the bud on its head.

It simply looked up at her. “Well, thanks for your help,” she told it sincerely. “But I need to head out now.”

She gathered up her  Pokemon . The Budew remained close to her, seemingly refusing to leave. Platinum began to turn away from it when she was interrupted yet again.

“Miss Gold! Miss Gold!”

Looker was running up the path behind her, his unbuttoned  trenchcoat flapping in the wind.

“My name is Platinum,” she told him flatly. 

He was out of breath as he reached her. 

“As a member of the International Police, I scoured the Valley  Windworks _ intensively _ . Imagine my surprise when I found no evidence of Team Galactic members!”

“I can picture it.”

“After speaking with the sole scientist inside, I discovered the true story. How impossible! How incredible! Could it be that you, a simple trainer and not a trusted member of the International Police, managed to ta ke care of every member that was inside the building?” he said incredulously.

“I did do that.” Platinum couldn’t help but allow a wry smile of pride. 

“I tip my hat to you, young lady!”

He reached for his hat. Unfortunately for Looker, his hat was nonexistent. Platinum noted a mysterious lack of embarrassment. He grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously.

“I dare say we shall meet again, Miss Jade. Until next time! For now, I am off, to Eterna City. I have heard the grave news that Team Galactic has set up a base in the city. Are you heading that way?”

Platinum nodded.

“What a coincidence!” he exclaimed. “There is an inn on the way to the forest, considering the time of day I strongly suggest you take a rest there. But as for I, I forever go onwards!”

Looker took his leave and began dashing down the path.

Huh, Platinum thought. Maybe he really is part of the International Police.

She gave the Budew a final pat before continuing down the path in search of this inn. Unsurprisingly, Budew followed her. She crossed her arms and looked down at it disappointingly.

“Are you  _ sure _ you want to come with me?”

She pulled out a  Pokeball . “If you really, really want to come, you’ll have to stay crammed in this thing all the time.”

The  Pokemon jumped excitedly. Platinum shrugged. A Grass type wouldn’t be a bad addition to her team. She threw the  Pokeball .

Budew accepted the capture immediately but was out of the  Pokeball in an instant. That was strange. As Platinum approached it, a striking white light suddenly assaulted her eyes. Why would  the  Pokemon be  _ evolving _ ?

A new creature stood before her. This one was taller and more  refined-looking in comparison to the cute  Pokemon . It had blue and red flowers for hands and the bud on its head now seemed to be blooming.

“Roselia!”  it exclaimed.

In a flash, Platinum remembered  Budew’s Pokedex entry.  _ Evolves upon high friendship level with its Trainer _ . She had just met it, and yet already Roselia seemed to trust Platinum entirely.

She was touched. She hugged the newest addition and carried it with her until she found the inn Looker had spoken of. There she rested the night before the journey through Eterna Forest that would come the following morning.


	9. The Eternal Search

Platinum stared at the vast canopy of trees. She stood before the seemingly endless forest, marveling at the density of the plant life. Peering through the first few trees, she could barely even see the narrow path that served as the only way through the forest. Marked on her map as an excellent place to catch new Pokemon, the map also warned of the dangers of straying off the path. It wasn't that the forest was too big to go through blindly, no. It was simply that the forest was so old, so ancient, that it was impossible to forge a straight line through the trees. There would always be some enormous trunk to block the path you wanted to take. To add to Eterna Forest's confusing nature, all the trees were about the same age and the same species. As a result, the forest looked the same all the way through. 

Platinum was not scared, exactly. She had confidence in her ability to navigate the path. And even if she did somehow veer off course, with the help of her Pokemon, she would always find a way out. Besides, a death alone in a creepy forest was not a death glamorous enough for an aspiring Contest star. 

Platinum entered the forest. 

Overhead, the sun offered only the most meagre of rays. The canopy of trees refused to let in the sunlight. The sunshine that beat down on the open land Platinum had come from illuminated the forest's entrance, but Platinum would soon turn a bend and the light source would be gone. She shivered. Platinum hoped to be out of the forest before long. 

Only a few minutes later, Platinum came across a rather sorry sight. 

A young woman was sat just off the little forest path, her back resting on a tree's gigantic trunk. The woman looked up as Platinum approached, revealing the pretty face of someone a bit older than Platinum. Her eyes were red with tears. 

“Are you a trainer?” the woman asked. Her voice was wobbly. 

“I am. Are you alright? What happened here?” 

Platinum had never been good with people crying, especially not strangers crying in a forest. Nevertheless, she tentatively approached the woman and awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“I really need to get through this forest,” the woman explained. “I have an important appointment in Eterna City. But then these thugs came through, and they stole the bag I had with everything I needed! My wallet and my supplies, but more importantly, they took my Chansey!” she hiccuped loudly. 

“Were they a weird group with turquoise hair?” Platinum pressed her. “Wearing weird spaceman suits?” 

The woman's eyes widened in surprise. “How did you know?” 

“I've dealt with them before,” Platinum explained. “Your Chansey isn't the only Pokemon they've stolen. I know they have a base in Eterna City- that's probably where they took it!” 

The woman perked up. “So I might be able to get her back there?” 

“Maybe,” Platinum affirmed. 

The woman beamed. Her expression turned hopeful. “You must be heading to Eterna City to challenge the Gym Leader there?” 

“I'll be passing through,” Platinum agreed. Platinum had a feeling where this was going. “You could come along with me,” she told her. 

The woman smiled again. “Thank you so much!” she exclaimed. “As you can see, I was planning on going through the entire thing alone, but then I got mugged and I just didn't feel safe going on without a Pokemon. I'm really grateful.” 

Platinum was pleased. “You're welcome,” she said. 

Platinum offered a perfectly manicured hand. The woman took it. 

Her hair was a dark, forest green. It hung down to her hips in a thick, loose braid. Her eyes were a matching dark green. She wore a long, pleated dress that burgeoned outwards at her ankles. Platinum could tell that the woman favoured the colour green. She had an ethereal sort of beauty to her- Platinum thought she blended in quite nicely with the foliage. 

“What's your name?” the green-eyed woman asked. 

“I'm Platinum.” She left out the surname. She had discovered in her travels that it didn't have quite the reputation she had hoped for. 

“Cheryl,” the woman smiled. 

Together, they began down the path. 

Wild Pokemon were abundant in the forest. Although the majority seemed to steer clear of Platinum and Cheryl, a few still persisted in planting themselves in front of the two. Flicker made quick work of the Grass and Bug-type Pokemon. 

“I'm not too surprised that I was attacked in a place like this,” Cheryl admitted as they wove through the natural maze. 

“It is a very secluded place. It makes sense they would choose this area.” 

Cheryl shook her head. “That could be partly why, but I don't think that's it. Eterna Forest...it's one of the most ancient, and the most mysterious, places in all of Sinnoh. They say there are spirits here of people, and of Pokémon, who were once lost in the woods. I believe in those spirits. They’re what makes Eterna Forest so spooky, and so dangerous.” 

“I see.” 

That was all Platinum said; she didn’t think she could manage any more without insulting the strange woman. Sure, the forest was weird, but Platinum wasn’t dumb enough to think that the forest was so creepy because of ghosts. What had happened to Cheryl was terrible, but it had nothing to do with spirits! Team Galactic were a nefarious group that happened to stumble across her and decided to steal her Chansey. There was nothing mystical about it, and Platinum felt rather proud of herself for refusing to buy into Cheryl’s ‘explanation’. 

“It’s fine if you don’t believe me,” Cheryl laughed. 

Her laughter was light and airy, pleasant to the ears. 

“I’m just...a bit of a skeptic when it comes to paranormal stuff,” Platinum explained carefully. 

Cheryl considered this. “So you’re a see-it-to-believe-it type?” 

“You could say that.” 

Cheryl gave another cheery laugh. “I think you need a tad more imagination.” 

The girls chatted as they continued down the forest path. Platinum learned that Cheryl’s important appointment in Eterna City was an exam for Cheryl’s certification as a Pokemon nurse. Cheryl learned that she had the joy of accompanying the greatest Contest Coordinator Sinnoh had ever seen (the greatest Coordinator just hadn’t had the chance to compete in any contests yet). 

In the midst of their conversation, Cheryl stopped. She pointed at the ground. "That piece of cloth is from my bag.” 

The girls squatted down for a closer look. Cheryl took the tattered brown strip. Her hand quivered as she pointed to another strip of cloth just off the main path. She ran to it and turned to Platinum. 

“They aren’t going towards the city,” she whispered. “They took my Chansey off the path.” 

Her deep green eyes glistened as she looked up at Platinum. “We need to find her!” she exclaimed, her voice breaking. “I don’t know what they’ll do to her!” 

Platinum felt terrible for the poor woman, but the idea of straying off the path terrified her. She didn’t trust in Cheryl’s idea of forest spirits or ghosts or whatever, but she did trust that getting lost in the woods could kill her. Cheryl sensed her unease. 

“We won’t go too far,” she pleaded. “A few minutes, then if we can’t find more evidence of where they went we’ll come back to the main path.” 

Platinum refused to sway. “I think we should continue to Eterna City. We could find help there! I’m sure the Gym Leader would know how to navigate the woods. Then we could find Chansey. I just...don’t think it’s wise to risk our lives like that.” 

Cheryl sighed, resigning herself to the situation. She knew better than to run off by herself. Platinum was her only hope of getting through the forest safely, after all. 

Just then, a loud cry pierced through the peaceful atmosphere. “Chansey!” it said. “Chaaaaaanseyyyyy!” 

Platinum and Cheryl looked at each other. A wordless conversation passed between the two. Platinum could not deny Cheryl her partner Pokemon, not now when it was so nearly in her grasp. She knew that if it had been Flicker that had been kidnapped (not like that would ever happen, though), no number of trees or mythical spirits could stop her from finding him. The girls dashed towards the sound. 

It was several hours before Platinum and Cheryl mustered up the courage to admit to each other that they had no idea where Chansey might be. After the first anguished cry, the girls had followed in the direction of a few more cries for help. But eventually, the calls died down, and they were left to guess the direction they should continue in. As Platinum had expected, the forest seemed a never-ending maze, and no matter where you turned the trees appeared to be identical. They could have been a few steps away from the main path, or dozens of kilometres from it. 

“What was that?” 

Platinum thought she could hear something. She felt as if she were imagining it out of sheer desperation, but sure enough, the whimpers continued. Could it be Chansey? 

She held her finger to her lips. Platinum and Cheryl fell quiet, listening attentively. Slowly, they followed the sound. 

They walked for a distance, unknowingly looping around the same path a few times. Finally, they discovered the source of the cry. 

Cheryl threw herself onto her Chansey, sobbing tears of joy at the recovery of her most faithful companion. Platinum could not help but beam at the happy reunion. 

The girls quickly noticed that all was not well with the Pokémon. It was beaten, battered and bruised. Its eyes appeared bruised and black, and tears welled from the residual pain. It could barely lift itself off the ground, its previous strength having been taken at the hands of the cruel Team Galactic thugs. 

Cheryl moved back from her partner Pokémon, finally assessing the severity of Chansey’s injuries. Her movement allowed Platinum to see what Team Galactic had really been after. 

The egg, that usually remained nice and secure within Chansey’s little pouch, seemed to have cracked. Platinum had no idea such a thing was even possible. Chansey repeatedly pawed at the egg, appearing incredibly distressed about the damage it had taken. 

Cheryl bent over the injured Pokémon. She caressed it lovingly, cradling Chansey in her arms the way she would have cradled a newborn baby. Her back rocked with quiet sobs. 

Platinum watched the scene, heartbroken at what the evil Team Galactic had done to the poor thing. Although was still unsure of the gang’s intentions, her heart swelled with anger at their actions- first her Budew, and now this Chansey suffered at their hands. Did they simply torture any Pokémon that happened to get in their way? Or had Budew and Chansey been targeted? 

Regardless of their reasoning, the damage had been done. As Chansey lay bleeding before her, Cheryl’s training began to kick in. She whipped around to face Platinum. 

“What kind of healing items do you have?” she demanded. 

The sudden change in tone from Cheryl’s soft, peaceful exterior shocked Platinum into action. She began rummaging through her bag. She tossed Cheryl a few Potions, along with several berries with healing effects. She even managed to obtain a Hyper Potion from the very depths of her adventuring bag- a gift Johanna had sent her when she first set out on the journey. 

Platinum kneeled next to Cheryl, before Chansey. 

“The severity of her injuries means that we’ll need to wait a small amount of time before she gets better.” 

Cheryl’s gaze clouded over. “If she gets better, of course.” 

Platinum held Cheryl’s hand in her own. Cheryl gripped it tightly as Platinum prayed her new friend’s Pokemon would pull through. 

It was a few hours before Chansey managed to regain its strength. Considering Cheryl had lost its Pokeball, it was impossible for the women to move on while Chansey remained incapacitated. Although the objective of their wandering off the path was now complete, they were not out of the woods yet. They still needed a way to get back on the main path, and out of this godforsaken forest. 

Unfortunately for them, the sky was rapidly darkening. Platinum could not help but think that she would have been in Eterna City already if she had simply refused to accompany Cheryl in her search. At least they had managed to find Chansey- Platinum had not truly expected to find her. 

With the darkness approaching and their chances of emerging from the forest becoming slimmer by the minute, Platinum and Cheryl faced a choice- stay put and continue their fruitless search the next morning, with no food or shelter, or attempt to find a source of wild berries and find a clearing to rest in. Hopeless as they may have been, they chose the latter. 

Chansey seemed to have some instinct of where to go and considering that neither of them knew what direction to go in, the girls followed Chansey. 

Luckily for them, Chansey’s instinct proved correct. Before long, they found themselves in a small little clearing. As the last disappearing rays of sunlight burst out into the clearing, Platinum looked around and discovered that their little area seemed almost too good to be true. 

A large pile of leaves and branches rested near a bush – they would be perfect for creating a makeshift shelter. The bush sported huge, blue fruit – Oran berries, perfect for human and Pokemon consumption. Best of all, a stream of water flowed through the clearing. Here they could drink freely and without worry of finishing their water bottles. 

“We should spend the night here,” Cheryl told Platinum wisely. 

She agreed without a second thought. 

Together, they pushed together branches and leaves to create a makeshift tent that would protect them from the elements. Luckily, it was a warm and pleasant evening, but Cheryl was worried it would rain, and so they packed on more leaves. 

When they finished, there was just enough space for two average-sized people and one Pokemon. “This will be a tight fit, but it will do,” Cheryl said softly. 

Platinum’s pulse quickened at the thought. 

They picked several Berries and washed them in the stream. It was wider and deeper than it had first seemed, enough to have a quick swim in if someone were truly inclined. They sat together and ate their Berries, back to back.


	10. I'd Spend an Eterna-ty With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: smut  
> 

Flicker sat next to Platinum, casting watchful glances at his teammates as if imitating his trainer. Buizel, Staravia, Shinx and Roselia had emerged from their Pokéballs and were now crowding Chansey, apparently very interested in getting to know this new Pokémon. Cheryl sat next to her partner, stroking it. She looked peaceful and serene, far from the anguished woman Platinum had first encountered only hours ago.

“You have a beautiful bond with your Chansey,” Platinum told Cheryl.

Normally, the young woman struggled with giving out compliments. They didn’t come easily to her, and besides, Platinum felt as if she were usually the one most worthy of a compliment. But the tranquility and the quiet love Cheryl showed her Chansey intrigued Platinum. She felt…jealous? The feeling was foreign to her, but deep within she craved that silent and unstoppable tie to another being.

Cheryl smiled. “You mean unusual?”

Platinum thought about it. “It is unusual, if you mean unusual as in rare. It isn’t weird. Like I said…beautiful.”

Cheryl glanced at her Pokémon. “I got Chansey a little bit before my 16th birthday. As a gift from my grandmother. That was…eight-ish years ago? Wow, I’m old…”  
“You’re…24?” 

Platinum was shocked. She could tell Cheryl was older than her, but she hadn’t imagined her to be nearly a decade older. The fragile girl who cried in the woods just could not be the wise woman Platinum spoke to now.

Cheryl nodded. “But age is just a number, right?” she said cheerily.

Platinum was strangely happy to hear her say that.

“You and that Monferno, how long have you traveled together?”

“Oh, not long at all,” Platinum replied. “I set out on a Pokémon journey just a few weeks ago!”

Cheryl raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Late bloomer?”

Platinum shook her head. “No. I’m 18, I started as soon as I finished high school.”

“Oh my!” Cheryl laughed cheerily again. “I know I said age is just a number, but I can’t believe you’re just freshly 18!”

“I get that a lot,” Platinum said rather proudly. 

Her height, and her impeccably grown-up way of dressing had always had people guessing she was several years older than she was. 

“Of course you do, Platinum. You’re an old soul.”

Her eyes rested on Platinum’s just a moment longer than was necessary.  
\------------  
Later, as moonlight trickled down into the little clearing, Platinum begin to prepare for a night’s rest. Cheryl stopped her.

“I’m sorry to ask this of you when you’re so obviously tired, but I’m absolutely filthy and the little spring here seems like the perfect place to wash up. I’m afraid of those goons showing up or something though…could you and your Monferno keep watch? I promise I won’t be long.”

Platinum was a bit surprised by Cheryl’s readiness to strip and bathe in front of a relative stranger, but she wasn’t about to deny the poor girl a chance to get clean. She and Monferno sat a little ways off from the stream, scanning the trees around them.

Although she continued to regularly look around for danger, Platinum found that despite her attempts to respectfully pry her eyes away, her body seemed intent on watching Cheryl.

She saw her through the corner of her eye and a series of stolen glances. Cheryl removed her boots first, carefully unlacing them and placing them off from the stream. Next came her long socks.

Platinum was momentarily transfixed when Cheryl undid her long braid. Her dark green hair came cascading down from her shoulders, becoming impossibly long, and brushing at the middle of her thighs. It had a wavy pattern to it from being kept braided for so long. Platinum felt an irresistible urge to run her hands through it.

Next, Cheryl undid the little button at the front of her dress. She pulled her arms out of the sleeves and in a fluid motion, her dress fell to the floor.

She bent over to pick up the dress and fold it neatly next to her shoes. Her breasts hung as she leaned, and Platinum marveled at their perkiness. Platinum hadn’t even noticed Cheryl wasn’t wearing a bra!

Finally, her back turned to Platinum, Cheryl removed her green lace thong and stepped into the water, her pale skin disappearing into the current. 

Just a few moments later, Cheryl’s voice called out to her. “If you really want a swim, Platinum, the water is lovely. I’m sure Flicker would be fine on watch duty for a bit.”  
Platinum did not need a second invitation. She hurried to the waterside. 

Despite her growing attraction to Cheryl, Platinum felt a tinge of hesitation at stripping in front of her. Platinum was incredibly body-confident, but she generally reserved the full view for intimate partners only. 

“You don’t have to be afraid, Platinum,” Cheryl said softly. “You can keep your underwear on if you’re shy. I just thought you might like the water.”

Quickly deciding it was time to woman up, Platinum took off her clothes and dipped her toes into the stream. “Oh, it’s warm,” she said, in pleasant surprise.

“I thought you would like it,” Cheryl said.

Using a bar of soap she had found in her bag, Platinum cleaned herself thoroughly. “Would you…like some soap?” she asked Cheryl.

“That would be lovely of you,” Cheryl smiled.

The water wasn’t very deep, and Platinum bent to keep her breasts covered underwater. Cheryl was significantly shorter, allowing her the privilege of standing up straight as she applied the soap over her body. 

Platinum took back the bar of soap. Going by middle school logic, technically I just touched her boobs, Platinum thought.

Cheryl sunk underwater for a moment, dipping her long green hair into the water. She began running her fingers through her hair, trying to take care of the knots.

“With hair that long and thick, combing your hair must take hours!” Platinum marveled. 

Cheryl giggled. “It does take quite a while,” she admitted. 

“But I have to say,” she said, flipping her hair to try and reach the back of it, “I have to ask someone for help sometimes.”

Platinum raised an eyebrow. “Do you want help?”

Cheryl smiled sweetly. “I would appreciate that!”

Platinum approached her new friend, coming up behind her. She gently took hold of a strand of forest green hair. She ran her fingers through it, stepping back a bit in order to comb the few bits at the bottom.

“This isn’t going all that well,” Platinum informed Cheryl. “I feel like as soon as I comb through a piece, I drop it back into the water and it gets tangled up again. Sorry.”

Cheryl turned to face her, looking up at Platinum. She was only inches from her face. “That’s okay,” she smiled sweetly, “we can just get out of the water.”

Rather unexpectedly, Cheryl took Platinum by the wrist. She led her out of the water. This time, Platinum made no attempt to hide her blatant survey of Cheryl’s wide hips.

Cheryl grabbed her dress and lay it on the ground, plopping herself down on to it. She motioned for Platinum to join her, who seated herself behind the green-haired girl. 

Platinum ran her fingers through Cheryl’s hair, gently removing what knots and twists she could find. Cheryl sighed and leaned back in contentment. Platinum became unignorably aware of just how close her genitals were to Cheryl’s back.

“I just realized,” Cheryl said suddenly, “we forgot to get dressed again. Oops.”

Platinum knew a hint when she saw one. She gently pushed Cheryl’s mane out of the way and kissed the side of her pale neck, leaving a little imprint. She wrapped her arms around Cheryl’s waist, marveling at the softness of it.

Cheryl craned her neck to get a glimpse at Platinum. “If I’m being honest with you, I’ve never been with a woman before.”

Platinum felt it unnecessary to say that she had never been with a woman, either. Sex is a skill, and Platinum was one of the few people to whom it came naturally. Her first time with a man had left him shaking and refusing to believe that she was a virgin. She was sure her prowess could easily be transferred to the same sex.

“And why is that changing now?” Platinum asked. She grazed her fingers up Cheryl’s waist.

Cheryl shook her head. “I had never thought of it before. I’ve never looked at a woman and wanted to touch her like that. That is, until…”

Cheryl kissed Platinum gently. Cheryl’s lips tasted faintly of strawberries, intriguing Platinum enough that she began to explore it. Cheryl turned to face Platinum completely, inching closer as she did so.

They kissed for a time, pausing momentarily to watch each other hungrily. Platinum noticed Cheryl’s gaze lingering on her breasts, but she seemed hesitant. Platinum took Cheryl’s hand and placed it on her breast.

Cheryl’s fascination was evident. She grabbed both tits and began to play with them, massaging Platinum’s nipples gently. Unable to resist her desire any longer, Cheryl lunged for Platinum’s chest, taking a breast in her mouth. She sucked at the nipple and let her tongue explore its surface. Platinum moaned softly as Cheryl sighed in satisfaction. 

Deciding that it was now her turn, Platinum lightly pushed Cheryl off of her and laid her down. She began kissing Cheryl’s chest aggressively, leaving a set of deeply obvious hickeys. She traveled down Cheryl’s body, appreciating the softness that Cheryl’s extra few pounds gave her. 

As Platinum reached the curve of Cheryl’s thigh, kissing it passionately, excitement crept into her. She wanted desperately to taste Cheryl’s wet pussy. She wanted to make Cheryl shake in pleasure and watch her round tits shake. She wanted Cheryl to moan, loudly, as loud as she could, because they were in the middle of a cursed forest with no way out and for all they knew this would be the last chance they would ever get to scream in pleasure. 

Her lips kissed Cheryl’s pussy. Her tongue crept out slowly and uncertainly. Platinum applied more pressure as she gained confidence. The taste was strange, foreign, but she found it intoxicating.  
Evidently, Cheryl was enjoying herself too; her eyes rolled back and her breath grew heavy. She squirmed in ecstasy as Platinum began to go faster, but Platinum firmly held her down, forcing Cheryl to give in to the pleasure.

Platinum felt herself becoming impossibly wet as she continued to pleasure Cheryl. Although she kept her mind on the task at hand, she found her hand creeping towards her clit of its own accord.  
Cheryl seemed to sense this. “I’m going to cum if you keep that up,” she said breathlessly, pulling herself up. “And I don’t want that yet.”

Cheryl sat behind Platinum, wrapping her legs around the tall girl. Platinum felt the moisture of Cheryl’s womanhood against her. 

Cheryl reached around and began to gently rub Platinum’s clit, who leaned back against her. Cheryl kissed her passionately as she continued to pleasure her in a circular motion.  
Platinum moaned slightly in anticipation as Cheryl reached a finger into Platinum’s vagina. She entered slowly, cautious at first, but soon found a steady rhythm. She kissed Platinum’s neck in sheer lust, her deep moans like the sound of heaven in her ear.

Cheryl could not resist the temptation to touch herself, too, and before long she was also sighing in pleasure, rubbing both clits in rhythm. 

As Cheryl continued the circular motion, Platinum’s breathing became more and more strained, her body shaking as she vocalized her ecstasy. Before Cheryl knew it, Platinum was rocking in orgasm, begging Cheryl to keep going, it felt so fucking good, she wanted-

Platinum was interrupted by a loud gasp from Cheryl, who seemed to have been so intensely turned on by the other girl’s orgasm that it triggered her own. She held Platinum tightly as the two came together.

The girls lay together, naked, kissing and fondling each other for a time, before making their way to the little shelter they were to sleep in. Neither looked forward to the following day, which promised them more fruitless searching for a way out of the forest. Their little escapade had distracted them, but there was no guarantee they would be out of Eterna Forest anytime soon.

The next morning, as they awoke and resigned themselves to their fate, something crackled in the bush nearby.

Out popped a woman with reddish-brown hair sporting a pair of cargo shorts and a cropped cardigan that showed off perfectly sculpted abs. 

“You girls are lucky I found you!” she exclaimed. “I saw a bunch of thugs coming out of here and I just knew something had to be up. Come on, I’ll show you the way out.”


	11. A Cynth-etic Encounter

The dawn faded into sunny morning as Platinum and Cheryl followed the woman out the forest. 

“Thank you again,” Cheryl said, for what seemed to Platinum like the millionth time. 

“Oh, no problem,” the woman said, rather nonchalant. 

Their mysterious savior had turned out to be none other than the gym leader of Eterna City, Gardenia. Thanks to her intimate knowledge of the vast forest, they had quickly made their way back on to the main path and out of the woods. Platinum was a bit miffed that she hadn’t been able to make Cheryl swoon by gallantly leading her out of the forest and away from certain doom, but she had to admit that it was pretty nice to have all the hard work of saving the day passed on to someone else for once. 

Gardenia proved to be a woman of few words. She politely answered Platinum and Cheryl’s questions but seemed rather uninterested in upholding her end of the conversation. Maybe she was shy? 

“I’ll bring you two to the Pokémon centre,” Gardenia explained. “You must be starving, no?” 

“Actually, not too bad,” Cheryl noted, “we managed to find a few things to eat, berries and…other stuff.” 

Was that an innuendo? Platinum wondered. She nearly shuddered as she watched Cheryl’s lips, remembering their night together. 

“That’s good,” Gardenia nodded. Her mind seemed to be on other things. 

They entered the city. 

Eterna City appeared to have been cut out of the surrounding mountains, much like Jubilife had been. However, Eterna was undoubtedly much smaller. It lacked the high-rise buildings and busy streets that characterized the other city. In fact, Platinum’s first impression was of a sleepy, quiet city, one more steeped in tradition and conservatism than modernity. She instantly disliked it. 

Nonetheless, she could appreciate the quiet beauty of it. The streets were paved with a kind of stone that made her pink boots click-clack like a pair of heels. As they got closer to the city centre, Eterna began to lose some of its old-world charm, the thatched-roof cottages of the outskirts replaced by medium-sized apartment buildings and trendy-looking cafes. 

“What’s that building?” Platinum asked Gardenia. 

She pointed to the tallest building she had seen yet. It was not quite a skyscraper, but it towered over the little houses and shops crammed into the street beside it. There didn’t seem to be any type of company logo or sign on it. 

“Don’t go near there,” Gardenia warned in a low voice. “I’ve seen those weird-looking thugs going in and out. That building went up years ago, but it’s been empty until just a few months ago…I don’t like it.” 

Gardenia shook her head. “Plus, it clashes with the scenery.” 

Platinum figured it was best not to push the topic, but Gardenia’s explanation had only intrigued her more. Perhaps she would check it out after challenging Gardenia… 

“Anyways, the Pokémon centre is right here.” 

Platinum offered a winning smile to Gardenia. “Thank you so much for helping us out back there!” 

Gardenia offered only the slightest curl of her lip in return. “No problem. Just…stick to the path next time.” 

She turned to leave. 

“Oh, wait!” Platinum called. 

Gardenia waited. 

“I’d like to challenge your gym,” Platinum said. 

Gardenia raised an eyebrow. “I hadn’t taken you for a gym challenger,” she admitted, “but I’ll be open this afternoon. Come by then.” 

Platinum and Cheryl exchanged goodbyes and email addresses at the Pokémon centre, promising to stay in touch. She got the feeling that Cheryl would have liked to spend more time with her, but Platinum was intent on training and completing her Gym challenge as soon as she could. Besides, she didn’t want Cheryl getting the wrong idea about what she wanted from her. 

Once Cheryl left for the hotel room she had booked, Platinum checked her watch. It was still only mid-morning, and Gardenia’s Gym wouldn’t be open for several hours. Well, might as well get some exploring done, Platinum thought. She wasn’t as big on ‘exploring the unknown’ and discovering new places as the average trainer might be, but even Platinum had grown to appreciate the satisfaction of finding an interesting shop or unknown restaurant in a new city. As Platinum sat at an outdoor table in a cute little café, sipping a coffee, she caught a glimpse of that all-too-familiar mess of blond hair. He really needs a haircut, she thought disdainfully. 

Unfortunately, Barry noticed her right away. Unlike the apologetic, grovelling approach he usually took after an argument with Platinum, this time Barry tried a completely new technique-ignoring what had happened in Floaroma Town completely. 

“Yo, Platinum!” he called out to her. 

Barry drew up the chair next to her. “You here for the Eterna City Gym?” 

Platinum offered only the tiniest acknowledgment with a miniscule nod of her head. 

“Well, you’re too early,” Barry said matter-of-factly, “Gym’s not open until this afternoon.” 

“I know.” 

Barry might have noticed Platinum’s deep unwillingness to speak to him, had he the slightest modicum of situational awareness. As it was, Barry barrelled on with his monologue, interjecting it once in a while with a quick question about Platinum’s journey, the answer to which he did not bother to listen to. Platinum continued to sip on her coffee, ignoring the unwelcome distraction. 

“Anyways, it’s been cool catching up with you, do you wanna go check out this sick ass statue thing I saw on my map?” 

He pointed to a spot in the centre of Eterna City marked as “Ancient Pokémon Statue”. Platinum grabbed the map, pretending to look at it closely. “I don’t know, do you wanna apologize for being a sick ass freak?” 

Barry recoiled, apparently shocked that the world’s most judgmental person was holding a grudge. “You’re right, Platinum, I’m so sorry about that. It was so wrong of me to allude to my magnum dong. I hope that in the future, you can get over your fear of monstrously large penises and forgive me for my great offense.” 

Instinctively, Barry braced for the incoming slap, which he took rather well considering Platinum put nearly all of her force into it. The two sat in silence for a moment. 

“Fine, let’s go to the damn statue.” 

\----------- 

The Pokémon statue lay at the centre of a little hill in the city centre. The area was laid out like a park, with wooden benches scattered here and there and a few flower bushes. There were already a few people there, but only one was actually observing the statue. Platinum figured that the novelty of it probably wore off fast for the locals. 

Even from afar, the sheer size of the statue meant that Platinum could make out most of the details. Although it was obviously a Pokémon, it was nothing like any Platinum had seen before. The statue seemed to have been made out of bronze, with huge rubies for its eyes. 

The creature was four-legged and incredibly tall. It had a fan-like tail and a strangely long, elongated head. On its back was a pair of what looked like wings, and its shoulders seemed heavily armoured. 

“That is not a real Pokémon,” Platinum said confidently. 

Barry rolled his eyes. “You just can’t believe in anything out of the ordinary, can you?” 

They approached the statue. As they got closer, Platinum made the uncomfortable realization that the person observing the statue seemed oddly familiar. He turned to face the two. Platinum immediately recognized him as the strange man from Lake Verity. 

“The girl from the lake,” the blue-haired man said. “The one with the fiery little Chimchar.” 

“Well, fuck me then,” Barry muttered, “guess I wasn’t there.” 

Platinum knew how to hold her own in dangerous situations, but this Cyrus character was seriously setting off her creep detector. She crossed her arms and said nothing. 

Cyrus glanced back at the statue. “This statue here is famous all across Sinnoh. No one knows who built it…or why.” 

He began to pace around it. “In the hedonistic throes of modernity, all but the most ancient of elders have forgotten what this statue represents.” 

He stopped pacing. Cyrus reached out and touched the base of the statue. “Not even a sign, or a plaque, or anything with which to remember the legendary Pokémon that forged the laws of our world from the chaos. The once-revered Pokémon of time and space, Sinnoh’s ever-enduring myth of creation has fallen into obscurity…it is about time for creation to begin anew.” 

He lingered for a moment, his eyes resting on Platinum’s, before brushing past them and walking away. “That was some pretentious bullshit,” Barry said. 

Platinum agreed. 

“Hey, what the fuck was that about!” she yelled at Cyrus’ retreating figure. 

She made to follow after him before Barry grabbed her arm to stop her. “P-Platinum, look at…” 

Platinum whipped around, annoyed at Barry’s interruption, but quickly realized what he was talking about. Jogging up the other side of the hill was the most famous and well-known person in all of Sinnoh- the Champion Cynthia. 

Platinum had seen the Champion on television plenty of times before. She had always noted her distinguished style and attractive looks, but the televised version and the woman that now jogged towards her were two completely different things. Platinum felt her heart leap out of her chest. 

Cynthia was tall, even taller than Platinum, although her slightly heeled black boots may have offered a bit of trickery. Her hair was impossibly long and effortlessly wavy, the perfect shade of not-quite-platinum blonde. She was beautiful, and her misty gray eyes seemed solemn and powerful. She wore a long, fur-tipped black coat over a tight black tank top that failed to contain the generous cleavage that inevitably comes with very large breasts. Her hips were wide and the thickness of her thighs was accentuated by the flared legs of her tight black pants. Platinum had never quite believed in love at first sight, but in that moment, she was a firm believer in debilitating lust at first sight. 

That’s the fucking Champion, Platinum told herself, whatever you do, do not stare at her boobs. 

Cynthia stopped before the two of them, catching her breath slightly. Platinum stared at her boobs. 

“I just received intel that there was some suspicious activity in Eterna City,” she explained, “and it looks to me as if the man the two of you were speaking to looked quite suspicious.” 

Her brow furrowed slightly. “Neither of you have anything to do with the suspicious characters coming in and out of this place, do you?” 

In the past, Platinum had generally been the designated spokesperson when it came to getting herself and Barry out of trouble. This time, though, poor Barry would be on his own- Platinum seemed momentarily incapacitated. She’s probably overwhelmed cause she’s meeting the Champion, Barry thought. He glanced at her. It was strange, though, for her to have nothing to say. The Platinum he knew would have taken the first opportunity to throw him under the bus to make herself look as good as possible in front of such a distinguished new person. 

“No, we’re just here for the Gym challenge!” Barry told her, “we don’t know that weirdo! Well, we’ve actually seen him before and I agree he looks kinda shady, but like we can’t really know what he’s up to cause we haven’t talked to him that much. You know?” 

Cynthia had seemed to accept Barry’s original answer of them being in Eterna solely for the Gym challenge, but the longer the poor boy rambled on, the more she seemed to grow steadily suspicious. She turned to Platinum, who felt an electric shock run through her as she met the Champion’s icy stare. 

“I-” Platinum stuttered for a moment, surprising herself. 

Are you really going to let yourself look like a damn fool just because the Champion is hot? Platinum questioned herself. 

Fuck no, Platinum thought. She regained her composure. 

“We’ve met him before, when we were starting off our journeys at Lake Verity. He called himself Cyrus, and he said some crazy stuff to us before leaving. This time, we arrived here and he started talking about Sinnoh’s myth to us.” 

Cynthia seemed to accept this explanation much more readily, which reassured Platinum. 

“I think there’s a link between this guy and the weirdos calling themselves Team Galactic. They both wear these spaceman outfits, the weird dyed blue hair, and now he shows up in the same city as the Team Galactic building. There has to be a connection there,” Platinum said earnestly. 

Cynthia nodded, seemingly deep in thought. 

“Yes, I thought so too...it can’t be a coincidence. I’ve heard of this Team Galactic, and there have been reports of minor crimes popping up all over Sinnoh. They haven’t done anything too threatening, but all the same, I want to investigate their building.” 

She paused for a moment, studying the two of them. “You said you were trainers, right? You should come along with me. I might need some help. Although...yes, I will get Gardenia to come along, too.” 

Barry and Platinum followed Cynthia through the city streets at a brisk pace. Barry, in his eagerness to speak to such an important character, incessantly peppered the poor woman with questions on her work and her experience as Champion. Platinum remained silent, mostly because she was terrified of making a bad impression on Cynthia. 

Cynthia strode up to the Pokémon Gym, rapping on the door a few times in quick succession. A disgruntled-looking Gym trainer opened the door a crack, muttering something about the Gym not being open until later. 

“I need you to tell Gardenia that I need her assistance,” she told the trainer firmly. 

As the trainer looked up and noticed who she was speaking to, the door clanged shut. A moment later, Gardenia appeared, looking worried. 

“Is everything okay?” she asked, barely looking at Platinum and Barry. 

“I’d like your help with investigating the Team Galactic building,” Cynthia said. 

Gardenia seemed surprised. “Just you and me? I know I’ve been talking to you about dealing with it for a while, but I was imagining a police force or something to tackle it...” 

“From what we’ve discovered, there most likely isn’t a large force at the building right now. Cyrus seems to be sending grunts out on missions most of the time, which means we won’t have too much to deal with. It also means we may risk coming out of there empty-handed, with no new information.” 

Cynthia smiled grimly. “But at the very least, we’ll have quashed a point of operation. And besides, I’m bringing two more along.” She jerked her thumb towards the trainers. 

Gardenia had been nodding along with Cynthia’s explanations, but at this she seemed to object. 

“Newbie trainers? Cynthia, they haven’t even gotten their badges from me yet. I had to rescue the skinny one from Eterna Forest this morning.” 

Platinum’s cheeks flushed red. She really didn’t need Cynthia knowing that she had gotten lost on the path-or Barry, for that matter, she would never hear the end of it. As it was, Barry turned to her with a slight eyebrow raise, not quite daring enough to tease her in front of the Champion and a Gym leader. 

“I think they’ll be alright with us,” Cynthia said patiently. 

Gardenia scowled slightly at the two of them, but said nothing further. Although Gym Leaders held utmost authority in their respective cities, ultimately the Champion took authority over them all. Gardenia had voiced her displeasure, but she wouldn’t dare directly challenge Cynthia. 

“It’ll be a good learning experience for them,” Cynthia said, in an attempt to pacify Gardenia, “being a mentor is an important part of our work, you know.” 

The group remained silent as they made their way to the out-of-place building that housed Eterna City’s Galactic operations. Most of the lights seemed to be off, and Platinum felt as if there wouldn’t be much investigating to be done, after all. 

“So we’re just busting in there without like, a warrant or something?” Barry said excitedly. 

Barry had always been rather obsessed with minor disobedience of the law, and Platinum was sure the novelty of breaking the law with the Champion at his side was driving Barry crazy. 

“Not quite,” Cynthia admitted, “As Champion, I have certain...privileges when it comes to the law. I try not to abuse them.” 

Barry deflated slightly. 

“Well, in we go,” Gardenia said with a sigh. 

Surprisingly, the first floor of the Galactic building looked like a regular old lobby. There were no shady-looking characters sitting at lounge tables with a drink and a cigarette, no mad scientists poring over illegally-obtained records, not even a couple of burly henchmen to ask for the secret password. A dusty-looking reception desk faced them, and a few dehydrated plants scattered the room, placed next to uncomfortable-looking benches. The only thing that looked out of place was the middle-aged man in a long trench coat, pacing back and forth and muttering in a foreign language. Looker looked up as they entered. 

“Miss Champion! You have arrived, and just at the right time! I was about to start my investigation into the building, yes yes, I was simply conducting my preliminary observation of the grounds. I was not at all, er, cowering in fear after having been defeated by a lowly grunt. That would have been...most undesirable.” 

He then noticed the rest of the group. “Oh, and you have brought Miss Gardenrose with you also! She will be of great help, I am sure. And my old friend, Miss Diamond! She is a great and capable trainer, she helped me clear out the Valley Windmill incident I had told you about, in actuality. However...Miss Champion, I am rather surprised by your choice to bring...a child? Is he perhaps to serve as a diversion while the despicably evil and undesirable thugs seize upon you?” 

Platinum stifled her laughter as she watched Barry out of the corner of her eye. 

“I am an adult,” Barry said angrily. 

Looker looked him up and down. “Er, yes, of course.” 

He turned back to Cynthia, “Anyways, the intel I have received dictates that although the majority of Team Galactic is not here right at the now, there is an important commander guarding the building who must be taken care of. We can then shut down the whole building! However, there was a small problem that prevented me from taking care of the problem myself (no, not the grunt situation)! There are two staircases in this very building, one up and one down. And I am but one (albeit one very powerful) man who cannot split himself in two. So it is quite the convenience that you have brought along such a troop, my dearest Champion, as two of you can go up and two of you, go down!” 

Cynthia nodded. “That would be a good split of our resources. I’d like to have you come along with me, Looker, you’ll be useful for the added information from the International Police.” 

At this, Looker paled. “Ah, well you see, madam, my work here is mostly done, I have done what needs to be done, which is, um, investigating, and I have also heard that there is Galactic activity going on elsewhere so I must, as you Sinnoh people may say, scram!” 

He scurried out the building as fast as he could go without obviously running. 

“He seems...competent,” Gardenia said pointedly. 

“Well, he is excellent at reconnaissance missions, but I’ll admit that he isn’t the best when it comes to action missions. Anyways, we’ll be splitting up. Two of us go upstairs, and two of us downstairs.” 

“Right,” Gardenia nodded, “it’s almost certain that the head of operations is upstairs, so I think me and you should go up there, and these two can-” 

“Oh, that’s not what I was thinking,” Cynthia said, cutting her off. 

“I’ll take...I’m sorry, what were your names?” 

“I’m Barry.” 

“Platinum Berlitz.” 

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. “Are you...?” 

Platinum nodded, secretly happy that at least someone she had met on her travels was sophisticated enough to know one of the most important names in the fashion industry. 

“Yes, I’ll take Platinum upstairs. She seems to have had run-ins with Team Galactic before, so she should be useful. And you and Barry can go downstairs.” 

Gardenia was evidently displeased. “Won’t it be more dangerous if you go up there without a skilled trainer by your side?” 

Damn bitch, fuck you too then, Platinum thought. She didn’t dare let her sass come out in front of the Champion, however. 

Cynthia laughed. “I’ll be fine! And I trust you to take care of Barry, too. So... off we go?” 

Platinum and Cynthia climbed the first staircase as Gardenia and Barry descended. The second floor seemed to be a computer lab of sorts, filled with row upon row of desks and high-tech computers. A pair of grunts quickly approached, demanding to know what they were doing here. 

Platinum immediately sent out Flicker, while Cynthia chose a partner Pokémon Platinum had never heard of before- Spiritomb, Cynthia called it. 

Platinum and Cynthia proved an unlikely powerhouse. Although Cynthia’s skill level was undoubtedly leagues ahead, Flicker still managed to save Spiritomb from a couple of hard-hitting blows with quick bursts of flame. The two mowed their way through the various grunts on the floor, defeating them one after the other. Platinum switched out her Pokémon a few times, but Spiritomb remained steadfast throughout their battles. 

Before going up the next flight of stairs, Cynthia stopped Platinum. “You did say you were doing the Gym challenge, weren’t you?” 

Platinum felt rather happy that Cynthia had remembered such a detail about her. “I am, but I’m planning on going into coordinating once I make it to Hearthome City,” she said proudly. 

“That’s exactly what I was going to ask,” Cynthia laughed, “you have that...coordinator flare in your battle style. I never could quite get into Contests, I don’t have the style for it...but I think it will suit you.” 

“Thank you,” Platinum beamed. 

The pair worked their way through another floor of grunts. 

On the fourth (and apparently final) floor, Platinum and Cynthia discovered the commander Looker had been talking about. 

Barking into a landline phone, pleading for someone’s assistance, was a woman with fuchsia-coloured hair pulled into a set of double buns. She wore a variation on the classic Galactic outfit, a strange, skin-tight black-and-white bodysuit with a series of slits on her right thigh. She was surrounded by grunts, but she strode up angrily as soon as Platinum and Cynthia rounded the corner. 

Behind her, attended to by the horde of grunts, were a series of barred metal cages. Inside these cages were Pokémon. This time, the poor beasts did not seem to have been captured for research on their evolutionary potential, as the wide variety of specimens also featured Pokémon that could not evolve at all. What they all had in common, however, was the pained, tortured looks on their poor faces. Platinum’s heart swelled with anger as she saw a poor little Bidoof chained to the sides of its cage, gnawing desperately on the metal bars. 

“Great, I get the fucking Champion here to mess up my shit?” the woman yelled as she approached. 

Unlike Mars back in the Valley Windworks, this commander seemed to have no time for chitchat or weird, vaguely flirtatious leering. 

“Commander Jupiter, Cyrus is sending backup within the hour!” a grunt called out. 

Platinum perked up; they had just received confirmation that Cyrus was involved in Team Galactic’s plot. 

“Too late now,” Jupiter barked. 

“Get lost!” she yelled, sending out a Zubat and Skuntank. 

Platinum and Cynthia reacted immediately, sending out their Pokémon. 

In a few turns, Jupiter’s Zubat fell to the floor, unable to keep up with Spiritomb’s raw power and Flicker’s speedy hits. Skuntank, however, was proving itself a formidable opponent. 

Although not particularly fast, Jupiter’s Skuntank truly was a tank, seemingly absorbing hit after hit as if it were nothing. Before long, Flicker was exhausted from the never-ending barrage and fainted. Platinum turned to Cynthia for help. 

“Why are you looking at me?” Cynthia asked. 

She did not speak aggressively, but Platinum immediately understood her meaning. This seemed to be a test of sorts-Cynthia was not displaying her full power, but wanted to see what Platinum could do. 

“Buizel, go!” 

Platinum and Buizel had not had many in-battle experiences together, but she had faith in her Pokémon. Before long, this blind faith proved itself. 

“Buizel, use Dig!” 

Buizel burrowed into the flooring below them. Skuntank couldn’t tell where the move would come from, and couldn’t quite figure out where to raise its defenses. After a few unexpected Dig attacks, the battle was over-Skuntank toppled. 

“Fucking hell,” Jupiter cursed. “We don’t need this building anymore, we got all we need. Everyone, out!” 

The grunts looked at each other in confusion before following Jupiter out, jostling Platinum and Cynthia out of the way. Cynthia quickly pulled out a cell phone, telling whoever was son the line that the Galactic building had just been secured and she needed a locksmith to save the trapped Pokemon. 

Before long, they were joined by Barry and Gardenia. “We couldn’t find anything of use, but we had a bit of a...situation. We managed to clear out all the grunts, though,” Gardenia said. 

Curiously, her attitude towards Barry seemed to have shifted. She was no longer as immediately dismissive of his contribution. 

“Good work, everyone,” Cynthia told the group. “I really appreciate what you’ve done, especially Platinum and Barry, you didn’t have to come along...Gardenia, would it be possible for you to reward these two?” 

Gardenia glanced at the two of them. “Cynthia, I need to have experienced their battle prowess first hand for me to do what you want me to. I know Barry is deserving of my badge, but for all I know, Platinum relied on you to get through.” 

Cynthia sighed. “I understand. But thank you for your help, Platinum.” 

“It’s nothing against you, Platinum,” Gardenia said calmly, “but I’m going to have to battle you myself because I have no idea whether or not you’re a good trainer.” 

Platinum felt her temper flare. So what if Cynthia is right here, I need to defend myself, she thought. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, is the Champion’s word not good enough for you?” Platinum said aggressively, “we could’ve both been saved a lot of time, and you some embarrassment, if you would just give me the badge now, but looks like I’m going to have to cream you now!” 

Gardenia’s lip curled as she checked her watch. “I’ll meet you at the Gym tomorrow morning.” 

Cynthia looked rather disappointed, but Platinum felt satisfied. She had said what she needed to say, and she meant it when she said she would cream Gardenia. 

They made their way out of the building rather silently. Cynthia had other matters to attend to and left immediately-Platinum hoped desperately she would get another chance to see her. Gardenia left for her Gym, and Platinum and Barry walked to the Pokémon Centre together. 

“You didn’t have to go so hard on Gardenia, you know,” Barry told her, “she’s just doing her job.” 

“I didn’t know being a raging bitch was part of the Gym Leader job description,” Platinum said, pretending to sound surprised. 

Barry rolled his eyes. “I think she’s cool, okay? And I’m going to watch your Gym battle tomorrow. Just to supervise you so you don’t get into a catfight with her.” 

Platinum spent the evening training her Pokémon, although what she really wanted was to Double-Slap Gardenia. She went to bed with the kind of cold determination found only in the heart of a woman hellbent on proving herself better than everyone else.


	12. Carry On, My Wayward Platinum

Platinum held up the Forest Badge triumphantly, admiring the way it shimmered in the sunlight poring through the large windows of the Eterna City Gym. She had hoped she would win the battle, but admittedly the incident in Oreburgh City had caused a bit of a blow on her confidence in Gym battles. But defeating Gardenia had been easier than anticipated; Gardenia’s grass-type fighting style had put the Gym leader at an intense disadvantage when faced with Platinum’s flaming partner Pokémon. Platinum felt the urge to gloat after completely destroying Gardenia’s expectations, but she figured that a graceful win would perhaps be even more irritating to the leader. Platinum flashed a pearly white smile at Gardenia, extending her hand for a handshake. Gardenia accepted it without a flicker of shame in her expression. Platinum wondered how she could hide her embarrassment so well.

“You battled well,” Gardenia told her.

“So did you!” Barry told Gardenia enthusiastically from the sidelines.

Platinum turned to him, raising an eyebrow. Gardenia had barely even landed a move; Platinum wouldn’t exactly have called that ‘battling well’…

“You really did,” Platinum forced herself to say as pleasantly as possible.

“So the two of you will be pressing on in your Gym challenge?” Gardenia turned to Barry for the question.

“Pressing forward and completing it,” Barry grinned, “well, at least, I will. Miss Platinum over here wants to be a Coordinator.”

Gardenia glanced at Platinum. “I can see that. You battle with…drama, not raw power.”

Was that a compliment? Platinum wondered. She simply shrugged.

“Oh, something else before you two go,” Gardenia called to Platinum and Barry as they exited the gym.

“The usual path to Hearthome City, the next Gym, would be through the Cycling Road, but it’s closed for construction. I suggest you go through Wayward Cave, and then Mt. Coronet, instead. It’ll be longer but you won’t have to deal with the hassle of the construction area.”

Barry offered her a cheery goodbye as they left.

“You seem to like her,” Platinum told him once they were out of the building.

“Yeah, she’s really nice!” Barry admitted.

Platinum laughed. “Don’t get any ideas, Barry. That girl is a lesbian.”

Barry rolled his eyes at her. “I know for a _fact_ that she isn’t.”

Platinum guffawed. “What, you pulled your pants down and she only backed away slowly instead of screaming for help?”

“Oh, Platinum, you sweet, innocent child,” Barry shook his head, “I can tell she isn’t a lesbian because she didn’t seem to like you.”

Platinum found many issues with his rather blunt statement. She chose to address the most blatant of them: “Why would you assume she would like me if she were a lesbian? That’s homophobic, it’s not like lesbians are automatically attracted to all women.”

“It’s not a lesbian thing,” Barry said quickly, “more of a…people thing.”

They had begun walking in the direction of ‘Wayward Cave’ marked on Platinum’s map.

Platinum didn’t quite understand what he meant. “You’re saying it’s a people thing to be attracted to me?” she teased him, with what she perceived as a slip of the tongue on Barry’s part, “anyone attracted to women is gonna be attracted to me?”

“I mean yeah,” Barry said, attempting to sound as casual as possible.

The conversation was quickly veering into this-might-offend-Platinum-because-she’s-gonna-assume-I’m-hitting-on-her-territory, and it was a territory Barry preferred to avoid, mainly because it would mean facing Platinum’s wrath and perhaps even the back of her hand. He could almost still feel the imprint she had made on his cheek at the café earlier- well, that stung now, but he would remember it fondly this evening when he was by himself…wait, that’s the exact thought I’m trying to avoid, he thought. Quick, Barry, change the topic!

“So, caught any new Pokemon?” he asked her.

“What do you _mean_ by that?” Platinum shrieked at the exact same time.

“It’s fine if you haven’t, you don’t need a huge team to be powerful!” Barry exclaimed.

Platinum merely glared at him.

“Did you only catch a Magikarp up to here, that’s why you’re upset? That’s okay, Platinum, they’re very cute Pokémon with an unfair stigma attached to-” he was interrupted by a loud ugh-noise.

Fearing where the current conversation might lead him, Barry was relieved to see that Platinum’s annoyed noise seemed to be directed at her map.

“Going by Wayward Cave is going to be _such_ a big detour,” she complained.

“You can catch some cute Zubats on the way?” Barry offered. “I know you’ve always wanted one.”

Platinum ignored the obvious attempt to get a rise out of her. “I take it you’re coming with me?”

“I see it as _you_ coming with _me_ ,” Barry countered.

“Looks like we’ll be going at it together, then,” Platinum sighed.

“I know you’ll appreciate the company,” Barry winked.

The two followed the path marked on the map, leaving Eterna City behind in favour of yet another greenery-filled forest path. Platinum felt as if every route in the Sinnoh region looked the same. But hey, I won’t have to look at any more of these boring paths once I reach Hearthome City, she realized. The thought filled her with the determination to get to the city as soon as possible- her Contest dreams awaited.

“Well, looks like we’re here,” Platinum said after a time.

They stood before an incredibly narrow entrance. Platinum would not have even noticed the existence of a cave here if her map hadn’t marked it off, and the only outside indication of its existence was an old, stained wooden sign on which the words ‘Wayward Cave’ could be made out if you squinted hard enough.

“This looks…exciting,” Barry said flatly.

“Let’s hope we don’t get lost!” Platinum said optimistically, bravely stepping into the cave.

“Good thing I’m a skinny legend,” Barry said distastefully as he squeezed his body through the slit of an entrance.

A few hours later, it was apparent that they were lost.

Caves, in general, are not a pleasant experience to navigate through, mainly due to the sheer darkness inside them, the cold air that permeates through even the thickest of clothing and the unsettling rustles of _something_ in the dim beyond. But Wayward Cave was special- not only did it boast all of the aforementioned characteristics, it was also a natural maze that offered dozens of dead ends, passageways that seemed to bring you right back to where you started, and even a total lack of natural light that meant anyone without a flashlight or light-creating Pokémon would be shit outta luck!

Platinum was convinced that Gardenia had suggested the path to them out of some kind of diabolical intent. Barry thought better of her, but he had to admit that it probably would have been better to face the construction on the Cycling Path.

“We are literally going to die here,” Barry announced.

Platinum pondered the idea. “For once, Barry, I completely agree with you.”

Barry leaned against the side of the cold cave wall, slowly dropping down to sit on his butt. He wrapped his arms around his legs, an expression of deep thought painting his usually unperturbed face. Platinum copied him, sitting a few inches away. Flicker, who had been using his natural flames to guide them, cuddled close to Platinum.

This feels familiar, Platinum thought. Indeed, this same scenario of getting lost in some creepy, isolated area was eerily similar to what she had experienced just a few days before in Eterna Forest. Except this time, she doubted a convenient Gym leader would appear out of nowhere to save her. Also, this time she wasn’t going to fuck her companion.

She glanced at Barry and crinkled her nose.

Well, probably not.

Platinum stroked Flicker’s side as the they sat, contemplating their next move. “I mean, there has to be a way out of here. It’s on the map and everything, it can’t be a total dead end…”

“Plus, Gardenia suggested it to us,” Barry added, “she must have gone this way before.”

“Why _do_ you like Gardenia so much?” Platinum asked, strangely curious.

“I mean, she’s a good trainer,” Barry said. “We were a good team in the Galactic HQ.”

“So were Cynthia and I,” Platinum said rather smugly.

“You’ve really got a thing for blondes, don’t you?” Barry winked at her.

Platinum rolled her eyes at him. “You wish,” she said, looking him up and down.

Although…Barry seemed to be growing up fast from the impatient kid Platinum had known back in Twinleaf Town. She wouldn’t call him hot, exactly, but she had to admit he wasn’t bad looking. Not that Platinum would ever say something that nice to him, of course.

“And when we were done in the bottom floor,” Barry continued, his tone growing more serious, “we had a bit of a situation where a bunch of grunts decided to gang up on us, all at once. It was completely against the basic principles of a Pokémon battle, but I guess Team Galactic don’t always play by the rules. Anyways, Gardenia defeated her side of the grunts pretty easily, but I was struggling. Not that I’m a bad trainer, I’m just new,” he said reflexively, sensing that Platinum might have taken that last sentence as an opportunity to roast him for his battle skills.

Platinum said nothing disparaging, so Barry continued on. “I had so many of them swarming me, there was no way I could’ve taken them all on alone, I would have been creamed. But Gardenia came to battle with me, even though her Pokémon were already exhausted. I really respected that about her. She could have just left or something.”

Platinum nodded in understanding, but in reality, she wasn’t the most impressed. Barry was pissing his pants because a Gym Leader, whose literal entire job was to serve the people in her city and be a role model, helped him battle a few bad guys? The guy really needed some positive attention.

“She seems like a really brave person,” Platinum said, trying to sound as positive and non-bitchy as possible for Barry’s sake.

“That was surprisingly non-bitchy of you,” Barry remarked.

“Yes, well, I’m actually naturally nice as hell. I just choose not to show it, because that would be weak.”

Barry rolled his eyes, letting the hint of a smile cross his face as he pushed aside strands of shaggy blonde hair. Platinum wasn’t used to seeing him with longer hair- his mother back in Twinleaf Town had always stayed on top of his haircutting appointments. She studied him out of the corner of her eye. Longer hair didn’t look too bad on him, honestly…

Thankfully, Platinum was spared the torture of finding Barry attractive for more than a few seconds by the sound of something very large moving towards them in the darkness, at a speed that suggested this _thing_ was incredibly displeased.

Flicker jumped to attention, the bright flame on the tip of his tail roaring to full fire. Platinum and Barry rushed to get up, looking around in the deep darkness to find the source of the sound.

Illuminated by Flicker’s burning tail, Platinum and Barry were confronted by a colossal rock-type Pokémon snaking its way across the cave floor at a speed that should have been impossible for a creature of its size. Platinum recognized the shape of a tall spine on what seemed to be the Pokémon’s head- this was an Onix. And for whatever reason, this Onix had decided it was incredibly mad at the two of them.

“Run!” Barry shouted.

Platinum was not inclined to argue. Flicker led the way as Platinum and Barry barreled after him, barely looking at the path ahead of them. The Onix seemed to follow, although it didn’t seem interested in exerting itself too much and only trailed behind.

Platinum gasped in happiness when Flicker lead them down a crowded passageway and into another corridor. It was faint, but she could see the trickle of natural sunlight spilling into the cave through a crack in the wall. Could that be the exit?

The Onix seemed to sense that its prey was about to get away. It suddenly darted forwards at incredible speed. Platinum only just managed to leap out of the way, Flicker attaching himself to her shoulder as she did so. Barry, however, was not so lucky.

The Onix had Barry cornered against the wall, the length of its body wrapping around to leave no room for escape. Strangely, the Pokemon seemed reluctant to outright crush Barry in its grasp, seeming to prefer to simply stare him down.

Platinum watched the scene in horror. She glanced at the trickle of light that signified escape. It seemed to call to her.

She wasted a few precious seconds debating her options. I’ll find help outside, Platinum told herself. It’s not like I could do anything to help him, she thought, trying to justify her soon-to-be-choice.

Platinum darted towards the exit, Flicker on her shoulder. She used the wall as a guide, leaning on it to find her way out.

Although Platinum, who has already been established as a woman who is out for herself first, found it relatively easy to leave Barry behind in his moment of need, her partner Pokémon proved himself more noble.

Flicker leaped off of Platinum’s shoulder as she made her way to the exit, his deep brown eyes burning with intensity. He threw himself at Platinum, being careful not to hurt his beloved partner while simultaneously refusing to allow her to move on. The message was clear; Flicker wanted Platinum to help rescue Barry.

“Flicker, it’ll be way easier if we can find someone to help once we’re outside,” Platinum said tentatively.

Flicker would not budge. He continued to drive Platinum backwards.

“We’re both gonna get fucking killed,” Platinum hissed angrily, but she finally acquiesced to his demands and rushed back towards Barry.

The Onix seemed to be toying with its prey. It had picked Barry up with the tip of its rocky tail and was slowly constricting him, then releasing its grip. Barry appeared to be in great distress- from what she could see through the faint source of light, his face was red and streaked with tears. She hoped he wasn’t in pain.

“Platinum, help me!” he choked out, apparently unable to yell due to the tight grip on his chest.

Platinum’s heart sank as she realized he had probably been calling out for help the entire time she had been planning to make her escape. But now, what was she supposed to do?

Onix was by far the largest Pokémon Platinum had ever come face to face with. In theory, she knew that size was no indicator of a Pokémon’s true strength, but it was hard not to be intimidated by a creature that seemed to stretch out as far as the eye could see.

Think logically, Platinum, she thought hurriedly. Onix was evidently a Rock type Pokémon… Buizel’s water-type moves might just be what she needed.

She sent out Buizel and immediately commanded it to use Water Gun. Figuring that there was no use respecting battle norms in a life-or-death situation, Platinum ordered Flicker to join the fray as well.

She couldn’t tell if Buizel’s moves were having much of an effect on Onix, but at the very least, they distracted it from its current target. As Onix flipped to face its new challenger it dropped Barry, who hit the ground with a thud. Flicker leapt onto Onix’s writhing mass, delivering Mach Punches to its cold, hard body.

As her Pokémon distracted the Onix, Platinum ran to her friend, helping him up. He seemed incredibly shaken, but for now Barry didn’t seem to have suffered any major injuries. Nonetheless, she crossed her arm around his back and forced him to lean on her, helping him walk. Hoping that the Onix would not notice them, Platinum began to lead Barry towards the trickle of light as Buizel and Flicker continued to dodge the Pokémon’s enraged attacks.

Flicker and Buizel joined them as Platinum and Barry arrived at the crack in the wall just large enough for an average-sized person to squeeze through. They pushed through as fast as they could, breathing sighs of relief once they felt the warm sunlight on them. Back in the cave, the Onix roared in anger, but apparently deciding against trying to break down the wall to go after them.

Platinum and Barry panted heavily, leaning into each other as they contemplated just how narrowly they had escaped. Platinum was nervous, though; what was Barry going to say about her initial decision to ditch him?

“Well, thanks for helping me out there,” Barry scratched his head sheepishly, “it would’ve been nice if you had reacted faster instead of sitting there for so long, but it’s the thought that counts, I guess.”

Platinum was relieved. In his panic, and in the darkness, Barry hadn’t even noticed her leaving and then returning to him. He thought she had simply been frozen in fear.

“Oh…of course,” Platinum said quickly.

She pulled out her map, scrunching up her nose in distaste as she traced the path to Hearthome City with her finger. “Might as well get going now,” she told him.

“We have to go down Route 207, then through part of Mt Coronet. Fucking caves,” she shook her head.

“Give me a moment first,” Barry said.

“Er…sure.”

Platinum was a little annoyed that they wouldn’t be setting off right away, especially after all the time they had wasted being lost in Wayward Cave, but she had to admit that the guy probably _really_ needed a break after what they had just gone through. Besides, her guilt at leaving him to fend for himself in the cave was forcing her to be a bit more sympathetic than usual.

Barry’s moment of peace was interrupted after just a few minutes by the sudden apparition of a familiar face.

“Lucas!” Platinum called out.

“I was looking for the two of you!” Lucas exclaimed, jogging to join them at the cave entrance.

He hugged Platinum and gave a friendly nod to Barry.

“I need to go to Hearthome City for a work errand, and old Rowan figured it would be best if I traveled with some strong trainers. The two of you were already gone by the time I got to Eterna, but the gym leader said you guys probably went through Wayward Cave. I’ve been waiting a while, though…did you get lost?”

“Absolutely,” Barry affirmed. “We were completely lost with no light source at all. We had to get out of there using the heat of my insanely hot body as a flame.”

Platinum ignored him. “We had a bit of trouble with some wild Pokémon.”

Lucas wrinkled his brow. “Professor Rowan said that there’s been some Galactic activity in the area. They might have influenced the wild Pokémon to behave strangely.”

“That does make sense,” Platinum agreed.

She turned to Barry. “You good to go?”

Barry shrugged. “Probably. I’ll just process the overwhelming fear and terror some other time, I guess.”

The three headed towards the main road of Route 207.

“Gardenia also mentioned that the two of you got involved with some Team Galactic shit back in Eterna. Apparently, you met the Champion?”

“Hell yeah we did,” Platinum beamed. “Me and her kicked ass.”

Lucas laughed. “And Gardenia told me to say hi to you for her, Barry. She…didn’t seem to like you though, Platinum.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Platinum said, refusing to elaborate further.

Route 207 proved just as uneventful as the other routes Platinum had traversed on her journey. She didn’t mind it too much- uneventful was better than the sheer chaos that had been Wayward Cave. She had another reason to appreciate the calm of the route- up ahead lay Mt Coronet, yet another unpleasant cave-y mountain-ish area that was bound to be filled with Zubat.

The trio found themselves at the foot of Mt Coronet much sooner than Platinum would have liked. She tried to reassure herself; according to the map, they would only need to navigate a short part of the mountain before coming out on to Route 208. And Mt Coronet was a relatively well-traveled path- it was bound to be more well-lit. And free of murderous Rock-types. 

According to Lucas, Mt Coronet was a huge mountain with both exterior, mountainous paths and an extensive inner cave system. Fortunately, the caves were supposed to be relatively simple.

They entered through a large hole at the base of the mountain. The space inside was much more inviting than Wayward Cave. It still failed at providing any kind of warmth, but at least the entrance was wide enough to provide ample direct sunlight. There was a large pool of water near the entrance, and Platinum could see tiny ripples in the water that signified underwater Pokémon activity.

“The path should be extremely straightforward,” Lucas explained, “we just need to get to that platform thing we see over there and climb up. Then we go straight down the path on the platform, climb down on to a flat area and the exit we want should be right there.”

They walked towards the platform. Sounds of Pokémon life flitted in and out of their hearing range, but the only Pokémon that made itself known was a single Zubat that seemed intent on flying right through Platinum’s head. There was no staircase up to the platform, so the 3 of them scrambled up the side of it, finding conveniently placed rocks for footing. They were now relatively far from either of the cave entrances, which meant that lighting was beginning to be a bit scarce.

They had only traveled a short distance on the platform path when Platinum, Barry, and Lucas realized that they were not alone.

Someone was pacing back and forth across the path. He looked up at the sound of their footsteps.

“Him again?” Barry whispered, just loud enough that the man could hear.

“You again,” Cyrus of Team Galactic repeated.

He studied the three of them, but when he spoke, he focused on Platinum.

“I find it rather strange that our paths continue to cross.”

“Well, I find it ‘rather strange’ that you’re blocking our path right now, so if you could just let us pass by…” Platinum said in annoyance.

“I heard that you interfered with our work in Eterna City.” Cyrus drew closer to the group.

“Our necessary operations there were complete, so it wasn’t too big a loss, but I must say, you have proved to be a bit of an…annoyance.”

“Let’s just go,” Lucas whispered, tugging on Platinum’s arm, “we can just go by him, there’s 3 of us and only 1 of him.”

Platinum stayed put. She wanted to know what, exactly, was wrong with this guy.

Cyrus seemed to have retained his habit of long, cryptic speeches: he began another one, again pacing back and forth to prevent them from pressing on.

“Many say that here, Mt Coronet, is where the Sinnoh region began. Millions of years ago, our world was created here, brought to life by tectonic plates smashing together completely coincidentally.”

Platinum had heard of this before. As she looked around the dimly lit cavern, she was struck by just how _old_ the mountain was. Her mind could not accurately perceive the millions of years, the eons that separated the birth of the mountain and her own birth, but the thought sent shivers down her spine.

“In this newly created world,” Cyrus continued, “there should have been only the passage of time and the continued expansion of space. Peace. But the world changed! Biological life, human life, emerged… the human spirit is weak. It is incomplete. The human spirit is plagued with emotion, joy and sadness, anger, emotions that force humanity to act against better judgment. Strife and conflict, enemies of the natural peace, have emerged thanks to the weaknesses of humanity. The world is being ruined by it! This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue.”

Despite all his talk about the weakness of emotion, Cyrus appeared completely absorbed in his anger at the human world. He was nearly panting by the end of his little speech.

Platinum was not impressed. “What does that even mean?”

“What?” Cyrus said sharply.

Apparently, he had expected his big words and desperate attitude to have more of an effect.

“Like. What are you even trying to say? Are you going to try and demolish humanity or something because we have the biological function of emotions? You know you’re a human too, right? And you seemed pretty fucking angry right then so it kinda sounds like you’re a hypocrite.”

Platinum crossed her arms. Lucas appeared incredibly alarmed by her challenge of him.

“This guy is incredibly dangerous,” Lucas whispered to her. “I found out from Professor Rowan that this guy used to work in his lab, but he was fired for unethical research practices. Don’t mess with him.”

Platinum ignored Lucas’ pleas. “Like, what’s wrong with you?” she asked Cyrus. “Your daddy told you not to cry when you were a little kid and your pent-up anger is making you act crazy? Go fistfight him or something, that usually works in the movies.”

“Tell him, Platinum,” Barry encouraged her.

“You would never understand,” Cyrus hissed.

Platinum was enjoying herself. “Dude, our parents fucked us all up in one way or another, but you don’t see _me_ running a national terrorist organization just because my mom told me I was looking chubby that one time. Like, chill. Your wannabe Team Rocket shit isn’t impressing anyone.”

Cyrus looked about ready to throw hands, but he finally just smiled. “You will understand one day. You all will.”

With that, he took his leave.

“Platinum, you fucking idiot!” Lucas exclaimed as soon as Cyrus was out of earshot.

They began walking towards the exit, Lucas babbling incoherently about how incredibly _stupid_ it was to decide to roast Sinnoh’s most wanted criminal.

“It’s fine,” Platinum shrugged. “He didn’t do anything to us, did he?”

They stepped out of the cavern path and into the welcoming sunlight of Route 208.

“I think that was pretty badass of you,” Barry shrugged, earning him a glare from Lucas.

The trio split up just before entering Hearthome City.

“I need to deliver something to an associate of Rowan’s, it’ll be more in the suburbs of the city. I can go off on my own,” Lucas told his friends.

They waved him off.

“So, your Gym challenge is ending here, huh?” Barry asked Platinum.

“I guess so,” Platinum replied.

Overall, she had enjoyed the 2 Gym battles she had experienced, but Platinum was now ready to pursue her dream of becoming a Coordinator. Her excitement had only been rising the closer she got to the city, and at this point she felt she might burst from anticipation.

“I might challenge the Hearthome Gym just for fun, but I’m ready to start my new life here.”

“I’ll be going for the gym right away, then I’ll be off,” Barry explained.

He stared at her for a moment. “I guess…we might not be seeing each other for a while.”

“I guess not.”

She stared back.

Platinum surprised herself by pulling Barry into a hug. She was not usually the touchy type in her friendships, but this felt rather appropriate. Besides, it did feel kinda nice.

They entered the city, each heading their separate ways.


End file.
